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EMINENT  YALE  MEN 


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MEMORIALS  OF   EMINENT   YALE   MEN 


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Volume   II 
SCIENCE    AND   PTIIUJC   LIFE 


agiioM  a83:iiia>  Yia^JHi^nA^iWfA^  PRESS 

•-     -      O-lSI^bU^i^^'V    MILFOKI) 

OXFOU!)   i   NIVKRSITY   PRESS 

MDCCCCXIV 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT 
YALE  MEN 


A  BIOGRAPHICAL  STUDY  OF  STUDENT  LIFE 
AND  UNIVERSITY  INFLUENCES  DURING  THE 
EIGHTEENTH    AND   NINETEENTH    CENTURIES 


By 

Anson  Phelps  Stokes 


Volume   II 
SCIENCE   AND   PUBLIC   LIFE 


NEW  HAVEN:    YALE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

LONDON:    HUMPHREY    MILFORD 

OXFORD  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

MDCCCCXIV 


Copyright,  1914 
By  Yale  University  Press 


First  printed  from  type  July,  1914,  1000  copies 


MEMORIALS    OF   EMINENT   YALE   MEN 


CHAPTER  V 
MEN  OF  SCIENCE 

I.     THE  UNIVERSITY'S  CONTRIBUTION  TO  SCIENCE 

The  University's  contribution  to  science  (including  medicine)  has 
been  made  in  many  ways:  through  investigators  Hke  Willard  Gibbs 
(B.A.  1858),  prophetic  teachers  hke  Benjamin  SiUiman  (B.A. 
1796),  writers  of  text  books  hke  Ehas  Loomis  (B.A.  1830)  and 
Wilham  Chauvenet  (B.A.  1840),  and  through  many  organizers  of 
scientific  instruction  at  Yale,  at  the  Johns  Hopkins  Medical  School, 
and  elsewhere.  When  the  field  is  studied  carefully  and  impartially 
it  will  appear  that  Yale's  greatest  contributions  have  been  fourfold: 

The  American  Journal  of  Science. 
The  Sheffield  Scientific  School. 

The  application  of  scientific  methods  in  agriculture,  including 
forestry. 

The  development  of  American  geology. 

The  American  Jourjial  of  Science  will  complete,  in  1918,  its  first 
century  of  existence.  It  was  started  by  Benjamin  Silliman.  Its 
editorial  management  has  been  continued  by  the  Danas — father  and 
son — and  as  the  elder  Dana  married  Silliman's  daughter,  the  family 
tradition  has  been  worthily  and  unselfishly  upheld.  This  review, 
comprising  original  papers,  criticisms,  discussions,  and  accounts  of 
scientific  progress,  has  maintained  a  position  of  dignity  and  authority 
among  scholars  at  home  and  abroad  throughout  the  most  important 
period  in  the  development  of  science.  Its  pages  have  given  enlighten- 
ment and  encouragement  to  thousands  of  workers  in  fields  new  and 

[1] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

old,  and  will  be  invaluable  to  the  historian  of  the  future.  They  form 
a  great  storehouse  showing  the  position  of  investigation  and  thought 
at  different  periods.  At  the  close  of  an  appreciative  summary  of  the 
Journal's  influence,  President  Gilman  said  at  the  Bicentennial:  "I 
am  sure  that  no  periodical,  I  am  not  sure  that  any  academy  or  univer- 
sity in  the  land,  has  had  as  strong  an  influence  upon  science  as  the 
American  Journal." 

The  Sheffield  Scientific  School  is  Yale's  most  important  contribu- 
tion to  science.  The  roots  of  the  School  go  back  to  Silliman's  first 
lectures  in  1804,  and  to  the  chemical  laboratory,  which  his  son, 
Benjamin  Silliman,  Jr.  (B.A.  1837),  fitted  up  on  the  College 
Campus  in  1842.  But  its  formal  history  began  in  1847.  The  profes- 
sorships of  Agricultural  Chemistry  and  of  Practical  or  Applied  Chem- 
istry had  been  constituted  the  previous  year.  The  "Yale  Analytical 
Laboratory"  was  now  opened  in  the  old  president's  house  on  College 
Street,  and  the  "Department  of  Philosophy  and  the  Arts"  formed. 
In  1852  William  Augustus  Norton,  M.A.,  was  called  to  a  new  pro- 
fessorship of  Civil  Engineering.  In  1854  the  instruction  in  chemistry 
and  engineering  began  to  be  considered  a  separate  section  of  the 
recently  established  Graduate  Department,  and  the  title  "Yale  Scien- 
tific School"  was  adopted  and  continued  until  Mr.  Sheffield's  munifi- 
cent gifts  made  it  seem  appropriate  to  change  the  name  to  that  now 
in  use.  This  first  appears  in  the  University  Catalogue  of  1861-62. 
Up  to  this  time  his  gifts  had  amounted  to  $100,000,  which,  according 
to  the  Yale  Corporation's  vote  of  thanks  in  July,  1861,  was  "the  most 
considerable  benefaction  which  Yale  College  has  received  from  any 
one  man  from  its  foundation."  Later,  in  1871,  with  the  approval  of 
the  President  and  Fellows,  a  Board  of  Trustees  was  established,  not 
to  take  the  place  of  the  Corporation  as  the  supreme  authority  in  the 
government  of  the  School,  but  as  a  separate  auxiliary  board  to  pro- 
mote its  interests,  especially  by  caring  for  such  funds  and  other  gifts 
as  might  be  entrusted  to  it  "to  promote  the  study  of  physical,  mathe- 
matical, and  natural  sciences,  in  the  college  or  school  of  science  known 

[2] 


THE  UNIVERSITY'S  CONTRIBUTION  TO  SCIENCE 

as  the  Sheffield  Scientific  School."  The  School's  history  and  influence 
were  admirably  described  by  President  Oilman — formerly  a  Sheffield 
Professor — at  the  semi-centennial  exercises,  in  1897.  His  address 
has  been  printed  and  should  be  consulted  by  all  interested  in  the  his- 
tory of  scientific  education.^  The  School  is  mainly  responsible  for 
many  important  movements  in  American  education.  These  include 
originating  the  group  system  of  studies,  the  work  for  the  Doctorate 
of  Philosophy  degree,  the  plan  of  giving  a  combined  scientific  and 
liberal  college  education  without  Greek,  and  certain  new  lines  of 
instruction  such  as  agricultural  chemistry,  and  the  course  in  physio- 
logical chemistry^  as  a  preparation  for  medicine.  There  have  been 
about  five  thousand  graduates,^  many  of  whom  in  turn  have  influ- 
enced American  science  and  education;  but  most  of  them  were  living 
in  1910,  and  were  consequently  ineligible  for  biographies  in  this  vol- 
ume. The  School's  phenomenal  success  has  been  due  to  many  causes. 
The  three  main  ones,  in  addition  to  the  generosity  of  Mr.  Sheffield, 
have  been,  that  it  was  started  at  the  psychological  moment  when  the 
development  of  the  Western  country,  and  of  American  manufactures, 
made  trained  engineers  and  chemists  a  necessity ;  that  it  had  connected 
with  its  Faculty  from  the  first  men  of  exceptional  vision  and  power, 
of  whom  the  late  George  Jarvis  Brush  (Ph.B.  1852),  the  Director 
from  1872  to  1898,  may  be  considered  the  most  representative  figure; 
and  that  it  was  an  integral  part  of  a  great  national  University. 

The  application  of  scientific  methods  in  agriculture,  including 
forestry,  is  the  third  field  in  which  Yale  has  been  specially  influential. 
Jared  Eliot  (B.A.  1706)  was  one  of  the  first  men  in  America  to  deal 
scientifically  with  agricultural  problems,  while  in  the  biography  of 
Samuel  William  Johnson  (Class  of  18.51-53),  it  will  be  shown  how 
instruction  in  scientific  agriculture  in  this  country  began  at  Yale 

1  Gilman,  The  Sheffield  Scientific  School  of  Yale  University. 

2  The  present  Director  of  the  School,  Russell  H.  Chittenden  (Ph.B.  1875),  is  responsible 
for  this  important  development. 

3  4461  Bachelors  of  Philosophy  up  to  1910.  Most  of  the  School's  eminent  men  are  still 
living,  but  among  the  deceased,  Professors  Brush  and  Brewer  (Ph.B.  1852),  Professor  Johnson 
(Class  of  1851-1853),  George  Frederic  Barker  (Ph.B.  1858),  Clarence  King  (Ph.B.  1862), 
and  Samuel  Lewis  Penfield  (Ph.B.  1877)  may  be  considered  representative. 

[3] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

under  John  Pitkin  Norton  (Class  of  1840-43),  was  continued  under 
John  Addison  Porter  (B.A.  1842),  and  reached  its  point  of  greatest 
fruition  under  Johnson  himself.*  As  father  of  the  Agricultural 
Experiment  Station  movement,^  and  as  the  writer  of  the  best  known 
treatises  for  farmers  on  the  subject  of  crops,  he  had  a  national 
influence.  This  department  of  work  in  the  Sheffield  School  was 
curtailed  by  the  act  of  the  state  legislature  in  1892,  revoking  the  grant 
which  had  been  received  for  thirty  years  under  the  congressional 
enactment  of  1862;  but,  fortunately,  William  Henry  Brewer  (Ph.B. 
1852),  who  was  Professor  of  Agriculture,  lived  to  take  part  in  the 
establishment,  in  1900,  of  the  Yale  Forest  School,  being  a  member  of 
its  first  Governing  Board.  This  School,  whose  commanding  position 
in  its  field  in  America  is  generally  recognized,  was  founded  by  Giff ord 
Pinchot  (B.A.  1889) ,  a  leader  in  the  cause  of  conservation  of  national 
resources,  and  by  members  of  his  family.  It  has  the  same  ideal  of 
public  service  as  the  Yale  Analytical  Laboratory  of  an  earlier 
generation,  and  is  doing  for  the  forestry  development  of  the  nation, 
and  of  the  states,  what  the  previous  Yale  movement  did  for  scientific 
agriculture.  These  two  closely  related  lines  of  activity,  with  all 
that  they  mean  for  the  country's  prosperity,  received  their  main  early 
stimulus  from  New  Haven. 

The  particular  field  of  science  in  which  the  University  has  made 
the  most  continuous  and  important  contributions  is  geology.  In 
others,  such  as  astronomy*^  and  chemistry,  it  has  been  eminent,  in 
geology  its  preeminence  was  early  established  and  has  continued 
almost  uninterruptedly  to  the  present  time,  when  Professor  Cattell's 
studies  of  American  Men  of  Science^  show  that  it  stands  first  among 

4  Among  his  students  not  enrolled  as  Yale  graduates  was  Orange  Judd,  the  well-known 
editor  of  the  American  A griculturist.     He  worked  in  Johnson's  laboratory  for  three  years. 

5  Cf.  Oilman,  The  Sheffield  Scientific  School  of  Yale  University,  pp.  30,  31. 

6  As  the  Yale  Observatory  is  now  only  a  research  institution,  which  does  no  teaching, 
students  generally  are  ignorant  of  the  College's  contributions  to  astronomy.  These  were 
specially  marked  all  through  the  middle  years  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  names  of 
prominence  include  Denison  Olmsted  (B.A.  1813),  Ebenezer  Porter  Mason  (B.A.  1839), 
Edward  C.  Herrick  (Hon.  M.A.  1838)  the  College  Librarian  and  Treasurer,  Elias  Loomis 
(B.A.  1830),  and  Hubert  Anson  Newton   (B.A.  1850). 

1  American  Men  of  Science,  2d  Edition  (1910),  p.  593. 

[4] 


THE  UNIVERSITY'S  CONTRIBUTION  TO  SCIENCE 

our  universities.  The  scientific  study  of  geology  at  Yale  has  lasted 
over  a  century.  It  goes  back  to  the  mineral  collection  of  Colonel 
George  Gibbs,  deposited  at  the  College  in  1809-10,  and  purchased, 
through  Silliman's  efforts,  in  1825.  This  contained  ten  thousand 
specimens,  and  immediately  made  New  Haven  a  center  for  the 
teaching  and  investigation  of  problems  connected  with  mineralogy. 
The  natural  situation  of  the  town  in  the  midst  of  geological  formations 
of  exceptional  interest  also  aided  this  development.  Benjamin  Silli- 
man  (B.A.  1796)  and  James  Dwight  Dana  (B.A.  1833)  are  probably 
the  most  important  names.  But  equally  significant  work  has  been 
done  by  Yale  graduates  outside  college  walls,  in  the  public  service. 
Denison  Olmsted  (B.A.  1813),  who  proposed  and  executed  in  North 
Carolina  the  first  state  geological  survey  in  America,  the  erratic  but 
brilliant  James  Gates  Percival  (B.A.  1815),  who  published,  in  1842, 
the  first  scientific  survey  of  Connecticut,  Edward  Hitchcock  (Class 
of  1825-26) ,  who  completed  the  same  work  for  Massachusetts  in  1844, 
and  Thomas  Sterry  Hunt  (Class  of  1845-46),  who  was  largely 
responsible  for  the  survey  of  Canada  in  the  sixties,  were  conspicuous 
pioneers.  These  movements  were  followed  by  three  others  of  such 
national  significance  that  the  biographies  of  their  leaders  are  all 
included  in  this  volume :  the  survey  of  California  under  Josiah  Dwight 
Whitney  (B.A.  1839),  and  the  Fortieth  Parallel  Survey  and  the 
organization  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  both  under 
Clarence  King  (Ph.B.  1862).  The  work  of  the  government  has 
always  been  in  close  touch  with  the  department  of  Geology  at  Yale, 
while  the  Survey  itself  has  had  identified  with  it  for  a  long  period 
representative  graduates,  such  as  Clarence  E.  Dutton  (B.A.  1860) 
and  Arnold  Hague  (Ph.B.  1863),  both  national  academicians.  In 
its  collections,  its  teaching,  its  leadership  of  public  movements,  and 
in  its  publications  through  the  American  Journal  of  Science  and  else- 
where, Yale  took  a  century  ago  a  position  of  leadership  in  geology 
which  was  never  more  recognized  than  today. 

[5] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Such  is  a  brief  summary  of  Yale's  most  conspicuous  services  to 
science.  Fortunately  they  have  been  rendered  without  interfering 
with  the  old  college  course  and  its  emphasis  on  the  humanities.  In 
fact,  it  is  believed  that  the  existence  side  by  side  in  the  same  Univer- 
sity of  two  equally  strong  departments,  the  one  emphasizing  science, 
the  other  "literse  humaniores"  can,  if  rightly  directed,  have  only  a 
good  influence  on  both.  The  student  of  the  classics  and  of  history 
needs  to  have  his  mind  brought  down  occasionally  to  the  concrete 
facts  of  the  material  and  natural  world  about  him,  while  the  embryo 
man  of  science  needs  the  idealism  and  sense  of  perspective  which  work 
for  the  arts  degrees  must  help  to  give  to  the  community. 

Yale's  work  in  medicine  has  been  recorded  in  permanent  form 
by  the  recognized  head  of  the  American  medical  profession,  William 
Henry  Welch  (B.A.  1870),'  so  the  briefest  treatment  here  must 
suffice.  The  beginnings  go  back  to  Jared  Eliot  (B.A.  1706),  an 
eminent  clerical  physician.  The  line  is  traced  through  Benjamin  Gale 
(B.A.  1733) ,  "one  of  the  few  pre-Revolutionary  American  physicians 
who  have  left  published  records  of  valuable  medical  observations,'" 
Mason  Fitch  Cogswell  (B.A.  1780),  the  most  distinguished  surgeon 
in  Connecticut  during  much  of  his  life,  whose  name  "has  a  permanent 
place  in  the  history  of  surgery,"  Elihu  Hubbard  Smith  (B.A.  1786), 
who  started  The  Medical  Repository,  the  first  medical  pubHcation  in 
America,  and  that  versatile  layman,  Noah  Webster  (B.A.  1778), 
whose  works  on  "epidemic  and  pestilential  diseases"  entitle  him  to 
be  considered  the  first  American  epidemiologist.  So  much  for  the 
eighteenth  century.  The  early  nineteenth  century  was  marked  by 
the  estabhshment  of  the  Yale  Medical  School,  chartered  in  1810,  the 
sixth  oldest  institution  of  its  character  in  America.  It  was  fortunate 
in  being  for  sixteen  years,  from  1813  to  1829,  under  the  leadership 
of  Professor  Nathan  Smith,  of  whom  Dr.  Welch  says  that  "he  did 
more  for  the  general  advancement  of  medical  and  surgical  practice, 

8  "Yale  in  its  Relation  to  Medicine,"  in  Yale  Bicentennial  Celebration. 

9  This  and  the  following  brief  quotations  in  this  summary  are  from  Welch's  "Yale  in  its 
Relation  to  Medicine."    Ibid. 

[6] 


THE  UNIVERSITY'S  CONTRIBUTION  TO  SCIENCE 

than  any  of  his  predecessors  or  contemporaries  in  the  country."  The 
School  has  had  a  modest  equipment,  but  it  has  graduated  about  fifteen 
hundred  carefully  trained  physicians,'"  and  has  maintained  conscien- 
tiously high  professional  standards.  It  has  recently  come  to  favorable 
attention  through  the  publication  of  Mr.  Flexner's  report  to  the 
Carnegie  Foundation  on  Medical  Education,  and  by  its  grouping  in 
class  "A  Plus"  of  the  American  Medical  Association.  It  is  hoped 
that  the  centennial  anniversary  of  the  conferring  of  the  first  degrees, 
in  1914,  will  find  this  Department  of  the  University  adequately 
endowed  and  equipped. 

10  1456,  up  to  the  year  1910.  Among  the  most  distinguished  men  of  medicine  educated 
at  Yale  during  the  past  century,  and  no  longer  living,  have  been:  Alexander  Hodgson  Stevens 
(B.A.  1807),  President  of  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  and  of  the  American 
Medical  Association;  Eli  Ives  (B.A.  1799),  Professor  in  the  Yale  Medical  School,  and  President 
of  the  American  Medical  Association;  Jonathan  Knight  (B.A.  1808),  vi^ho  held  the  same  two 
positions;  Edward  Delafield  (B.A.  1812),  President  of  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons 
in  New  York;  and  such  eminent  doctors  as  George  McClellan  (B.A.  1816),  father  of  General 
McCleUan,  and  Alfred  SUM  (B.A.  1832)  of  Philadelphia;  and  William  Holme  Van  Buren 
(B.A.  1838),  and  William  Thompson  Lusk  (B.A,  1859)  of  New  York.  If  the  names  of  the 
living  doctors  from  the  last  nAmed  city  were  given,  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  one- 
third  of  the  leading  names  would  be  included  in  a  Yale  list.  McClellan  and  Van  Buren  had 
national  reputations  as  surgeons,  Stille  was  an  able  teacher  and  writer  on  medicine,  while 
Lusk's  book  on  the  Practise  of  Midwifery  is  still  quoted,  and  was  for  many  years  an  inter- 
national authority. 


[7] 


II.     REPRESENTATIVE  BIOGRAPHIES,  WITH  LETTERS 

Jared  Eliot 
Class  of  1706 

Born,  November  7,  1685;  Died,  April  22,  1763 
"The  Father  of  Regular  IMedical  Practice  in  Connecticut" 

The  name  of  Jared  Eliot  deserves  to  be  remembered  as  that  of 
the  ablest  doctor  of  his  generation  in  the  Colony  of  Connecticut,  and 
the  last  eminent  clerical  physician  of  New  England.  He  was  a  man 
of  sufficient  attainments  in  science  to  be  elected  a  Fellow  of  the 
Royal  Society  of  London — an  honor  shared  by  four  alumni:  David 
Humphreys,  James  Dwight  Dana,  Hubert  Anson  Newton,  and 
Josiah  Willard  Gibbs,  and  one  non-graduate,  Thomas  Sterry  Hunt. 
He  was  the  grandson  of  the  great  apostle  to  the  Indians,  John  Eliot, 
and  his  father  was  the  minister  of  Guilford,  Connecticut.  By  his  will 
he  directed  that  one  or  both  of  his  sons  should  be  given  a  thorough 
education  as  a  preparation  for  the  ministry.  This,  and  his  natural 
inclination,  led  to  Jared's  going  to  college,  and  the  proximity  of 
Guilford  to  Saybrook,  where  the  "Collegiate  School  of  Connecticut" 
was  then  located,  made  Yale  rather  than  the  ancestral  Harvard  the 
natural  choice.  One  of  his  two  classmates  was  Rev.  Jonathan 
Dickinson  (q.v.).  Some  account  of  college  life  in  their  time  is 
included  in  the  sketch  of  his  life.  Of  his  own  work  as  an  under- 
graduate, no  details  are  preserved,  but  the  tradition  that  he  was 
Rector  Pierson's  favorite  pupil  is  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  he 
was  called  to  be  his  successor  as  pastor  at  Killingworth.  His  attach- 
ment to  his  Alma  Mater  was  later  shown  in  many  ways.  He  was  a 
Fellow  for  a  third  of  a  century,  he  aided  in  interesting  Bishop 
Berkeley  in  the  College,  and  by  his  will  left  it  a  Library  Fund.'    This 

1  Clap,  Annals,  p.  77. 

[8] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— JARED  ELIOT 

is  the  small  nucleus  from  which  the  endowment  of  this  most  vital 
department  of  the  University  has  been  developed.  The  clause  of  the 
will  reads:  "I  will  and  bequeathe  to  the  President  and  Fellows  of 
Yale  College  in  Newhaven  ten  Pounds  lawfull  Money  the  Intrest 
of  which  Sum  shall  be  applyed  to  the  Use  of  the  Libery  in  buying 
of  Books  from  Time  to  Time  according  to  their  best  skill."" 

On  leaving  college  he  returned  to  his  native  town  as  schoolmaster, 
and  had  the  distinction  of  preparing  for  college  one  of  the  most 
eminent  of  Yale's  early  graduates — Rev.  Samuel  Johnson  (q.v.). 
In  1709  he  was  ordained  minister  of  the  neighboring  Congregational 
Church  at  Killingworth,  now  Clinton,  a  post  which  he  filled  with 
honor  for  half  a  century.  Although  his  medical  work  took  him  all 
over  the  state,  and  occasionally  to  Boston  and  Newport,  he  tried  to 
arrange  to  occupy  his  own  pulpit  every  Sunday.  His  zeal  as  a 
minister  of  the  Gospel  was  so  great  that  he  is  said  by  one  of  his  early 
biographers  not  to  have  failed  for  forty  successive  years  in  preaching 
at  least  once  a  Sunday.^  His  friendship  with  Johnson,  and  other 
causes,  led  him,  in  1722,  to  unite  with  certain  Congregational 
ministers,  in  presenting  to  the  Yale  Trustees  doubts  as  to  the  validity 
of  their  ordination;  but  his  difficulties  were  satisfactorily  met  by 
clerical  colleagues,  and  he  remained  through  life  devoted  to  his 
original  ministry.  He  held  the  confidence  of  liis  brethren  to  such  an 
extent  that  he  was  repeatedly  elected  Moderator  of  the  General 
Association  of  Connecticut.  But  it  was  as  a  doctor,  "the  Father  of 
regular  medical  practice  in  Connecticut,"  and  as  a  man  of  science, 
rather  than  as  a  minister,  that  Eliot  was  most  famous  in  his  generation. 
Dr.  James  Thacher,  whose  knowledge  of  early  American  men  of 
medicine  was  probably  unequaled,  says:  "He  was  unquestionably 
the   first   physician   in   his   day   in   Connecticut,   and   was   the   last 

clerical  physician  of  eminence,  probably  in  New  England He 

was  ....  very  eminent  for  his  judgment  and  skill  in  the  manage- 

2  Copied  from  last  page  of  MS.,  "Land  Book"  in  Treasurer's  office. 

3  Sprague,  Annals,  Vol.  I,  p.  271,  quoting  Thacher,  American  Medical  Biography. 

[9] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

ment  of  chronic  complaints.  In  these  he  appears  to  have  been 
more    extensively    consulted    than    any    other    physician    in    New 

England "^     His  methods   and  his  reputation  were  largely 

conserved  by  his  pupil  and  son-in-law,  Dr.  Benjamin  Gale  (B.A. 
1733),  a  man  of  the  highest  standing  in  his  profession,  whose  studies 
of  smallpox  received  much  attention  in  England. 

Intimately  connected  with  his  medical  skill  was  his  knowledge 
of  botany,  for  which  he  was  famed.  He  introduced  the  white  mul- 
berry into  Connecticut,  together  with  the  silkworm,  and  wrote  An 
Essay  upon  Field  Husbandry  in  New  England,  which  went  through 
two  editions.  It  was  one  of  the  first  books  published  in  this  country 
attempting  to  apply  scientific  principles  to  agriculture.  His  investi- 
gations gained  for  him  a  gold  medaP  from  the  London  Society  of 
Arts.  The  specific  cause  of  this  award  was  his  Essay  07i  the 
Invention,  or  Art  of  Making  very  good,  if  not  the  best  Iron,  from 
black  Sea-Sand,  his  experiments  having  satisfied  him  that  such  sand 
contained  particles  of  iron. 

The  most  significant  thing  about  Eliot  was  his  method,  where 
he  approached  to  modernity  in  a  very  unmodern  age.  Here  are 
quotations  from  his  writings  that  do  credit  to  his  scientific  spirit : 

Entering  on  the  borders  of  terra  incognita  I  can  advance  not  one  step  forward, 
but  as  experience,  my  only  pole-star,  shall  direct.     I  am  obliged  to  work  as  poor 

men  live,  from  hand  to  mouth,  and  as  light  springs  up  before  me,  as  I  advance 

As  all  theory  not  founded  upon  matter  of  fact  and  that  is  not  the  result  of  experience, 
is  vague  or  uncertain,  therefore  it  is  with  great  diffidence  that  I  have  offered  any- 
thing in  way  of  theory  which  is  only  conjectural  and  shall  always  take  it  as  a  favor 
to  be  corrected  and  set  right.^ 

Eliot's  house,  being  near  the  main  highroad  from  Boston  to 
New  York,  was  frequently  visited  by  the  distinguished  characters 
of  the  day,  and  especially  by  Benjamin  Franklin.  Parts  of  Eliot's 
correspondence  with  him  are  preserved  in  the  Yale  Library.  Dr. 
Franklin  appreciated  both  his  friend's  knowledge  and  his  charm. 

*  Ibid.,  Vol.  I,  pp.  270-271.    This  was  written  in  1828. 

5  Awarded  in  1762.     Reproduced  in  Appleton,  American  Biography,  Vol.  II,  p.  324. 

6  Quoted  by  Gilman,  Yale  Bicentennial  Celebration,  pp.  324,  325. 

[10] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— JARED  ELIOT 

He  wrote  to  him  in  1755:  "I  remember  with  Pleasure  the  cheerful 
hours  I  enjoyed  last  Winter  in  your  Company,  and  would  with  all 
my  heart  give  any  ten  of  the  thick  old  Folios  that  stand  on  the  shelves 
before  me  for  a  little  book  of  the  stories  you  then  told  with  so  much 
propriety  and  humor."^  That  he  was  a  broadly  educated  man  for 
his  day,  and  that  he  acquired  much  knowledge  from  study,  travel, 
and  intercourse  with  men  of  eminence,  is  evident.  His  figure  stands 
out  clearly  in  the  dim  past  of  New  England,  and  a  sturdy  and 
attractive  figure  it  is.  The  combination  of  clergyman  and  doctor  is 
probably  no  longer  possible  in  our  country  in  this  day  of  scientific 
specialization,  although  it  is  still  occasionally  seen  on  the  mission 
field.  But  we  cannot  fail  to  accord  our  meed  of  honor  to  the  last 
conspicuous  example  of  a  profession  that  tried  to  carry  out  the 
Scripture  teaching,  by  becoming  a  physician  both  of  the  body  and 
of  the  soul.  Dr.  William  H.  Welch  (B.A.  1870)  paid  this  tribute 
to  Eliot  in  his  address  at  the  Bicentennial : 

But  of  all  those  who  combined  the  offices  of  clergyman  and  physician,  not 
one,  from  the  foundation  of  the  American  Colonies,  attained  so  high  distinction  as 
a  physician  as  Jared  Eliot  of  the  Class  of  1706,  who  was  the  first  graduate  of  Yale 
College  to  enter  upon  the  practice  of  medicine.* 

When  we  consider  the  extent  and  variety  of  his  work  as  a  settled 
minister,  a  practicing  physician  and  teacher  both  of  medicine  and  of 
surgery,  a  most  successful  farmer,  and  a  man  of  science,  we  can 
appreciate  the  truth  of  the  statement  in  his  funeral  sermon,  that 
"Idleness  was  his  abhorrence:  but  everj^  portion  of  time  was  filled 
with  action  by  him.  Perhaps  no  man  in  his  day  has  slept  so  little,  and 
done  so  much,  in  so  great  a  variety."^  The  quaint  epitaph  on  the 
tombstone  of  another  Yale  clerical  phj^sician,  who  graduated  a  decade 
later,  might  well  be  applied  to  Eliot : 

7  Appleton,  American  Biography,  Vol.  II,  p.  324.  Franklin  bought  some  land  in  New 
Haven,  near  the  southern  end  of  the  present  Lawrence  Hall,  in  1753,  planning  to  set  up  a 
printing  establishment  with  his  nephew  in  charge.  The  plan  miscarried,  and  the  press  and 
type  were  sold  to  James  Parker.    Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  II,  p.  356. 

8  Yale  Bicentennial  Celebration,  p.  208. 

9  Funeral  Sermon  by  Rev.  Thomas  Ruggles   (B.A.  1723). 

[in 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Bless'd  with  good  intellectual  parts, 
Well  skilled  in  two  important  arts, 
Nobly  he  filled  the  double  station 
Both  of  a  preacher  and  physician. 
To  cure  men's  sicknesses  and  sins. 
He  took  unwearied  care  and  pains ; 
And  strove  to  make  his  patient  whole 
Throughout,  in  body  and  in  soul.^° 


OMNIBUS  ET  SINGULIS 

has  Literas  lecturis  Salutem  in  Domino  Vobis  notum  sit  quod  Davidem 
Gardiner  candidatum  primum  in  Artibus  Gradum  competentem  tam  proba- 
vimus  quam  approbavimus  quem  examine  sufficienti  prjBvio  approbatum  nobis 
placet  Titulo  Graduque  Artium  liberalium  Baccalaurei  et  adornare  et  conde- 
corare  in  cujus  rei  majorem  fidem  et  plenius  Testimonium  Sigillum  Collegii 
Yalensis  quo  hoc  in  parte  utimur  praesidentibus  apponi  fecimus 

Datum  a  Collegio  Yalensi 
quod  est  in  novo  Portu 

Connecticutensium  Sep^ris  g^o  A  D  1736 


E.  Williams 

Rector 

Samuel  Andrew 

Jared  Eliot 

Saml  Woodbridge 

Curatores 

Jonath  Marsh 

Samuel  Cooke 

This  diploma"  is  a  link  with  the  beginnings  of  Yale  College.  It 
is  signed  by  a  majority  of  the  Trustees  under  the  original  charter. 
One  of  these,  Rev.  Samuel  Andrew,  was  at  the  time  (1736)  the  only 
survivor  of  the  founders  of  the  College — the  ten  ministers  whose 
names  are  cut  in  large  letters  below  the  eaves  of  Woodbridge  Hall. 
He  acted  as  Rector  pro  tempore  between  the  death  of  Rev.  Abraham 
Pierson,  in  1707,  and  the  succession  of  Cutler,  in  1719. 

Elisha  Williams,  who  signed  as  Rector,  held  this  office  from  1726 
to  1739.  He  was  a  man  of  ability  and  breadth  of  culture,  whose 
resignation  was  accepted  with  regret,  and  "with  hearty  thankfulness 
for  all  his  past  good  service  in  this  capacit}\"    He  later  distinguished 

10  Quoted  in  sketch  of  Rev.  Benjamin  Doolittle   (B.A.  1716),  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A., 
Vol.  I,  p.  153. 

11  A  diploma  of  1702  is  preserved  in  the  University  Library. 

[12] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— JARED  ELIOT 

himself  as  Speaker  of  the  Connecticut  House,  Judge  of  the  Superior 
Court,  Chaplain  in  the  expedition  to  Cape  Breton,  and  Colonel  and 
Commander-in-chief  of  the  Connecticut  forces  for  the  invasion  of 
Canada  in  1746 — a  rather  varied  career  for  an  old-time  New  England 
parson ! 

Jared  Eliot  was  a  Trustee  from  1730  to  1763,  being  the  first 
Yale  graduate  to  be  elected  to  this  position.  As  an  "Old  Light" 
adherent,  he  opposed  President  Clap  strenuously  for  proposing  to 
establish  a  separate  college  congregation — a  resolve  which  was  carried 
out  June  30,  1757,  by  the  formal  beginning  of  "The  Church  of  Christ 
in  Yale  College." 


[13] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Benjamin  Silliman 
Class  of  1796 

Born,  August  8,  1779;  Died,  November  24,  1864 
Pioneer  in  Scientific  Education 

Benjamin  Silliman,  founder  of  the  American  Journal  of 
Science,  and  the  most  conspicuous  scientific  teacher  in  America  in 
the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  was  born  in  what  is  now 
Trumbull,  Connecticut.  Owing  to  the  absence  of  the  father,  General 
Gold  Selleck  Silliman  (B.A.  1752),  who  had  been  captured  by  the 
British,  and  to  the  danger  of  their  home  at  Fairfield  being  attacked 
by  the  enemy,  the  mother  had  moved  her  family  about  seven  miles 
inland.  Tliis  accounts  for  the  son's  birth  away  from  the  paternal 
farm.  He  was  prepared  for  college  by  the  local  pastor,  and  by 
Stephen  Fowler  (B.A.  1779),  later  a  merchant,  under  whom  Joseph 
E.  Sheffield  began  his  business  career.  He  was  next  to  the  youngest 
man  in  his  class  when  he  entered  with  his  brother,  in  1792.  Yale 
College  was  then  a  small  institution  with  a  very  inadequate  equip- 
ment, but  nevertheless  it  was  effective  in  training  men  for  leadership. 
Silliman,  who  saw  the  end  of  mediaeval  Yale  under  Stiles,  the  begin- 
nings of  the  nineteenth  century  College  under  Dwight,  and  the 
development  of  a  modern  universit}'  under  Woolsey,  delivered  an 
address  before  the  alumni  in  1842,  contrasting  the  College  that 
year  with  its  condition  a  half  century  earlier  when  he  first  entered  its 
gate  as  a  Freshman.  From  the  manuscript  of  tliis  address  the 
following  quotations  are  taken: 

These  three  buildings  [Connecticut  Hall,  Athenaeum,  and  the  Commons]  were 
all  that  appeared  upon  the  college  ground  in  1792.  A  close  fence  of  panneled 
boards,  painted  red,  and  relieved  by  cross  stripes  of  white,  enclosed  the  narrow 
premises,  which  occupied  no  more  of  the  present  front,  than  to  the  North  end  of 
the  old  college  [Connecticut].  The  remainder,^  and  for  the  greater  part  of  that 
now  extended  line,  was  filled  with  a  grotesque  group — generally  of  most  undesirable 
establishments,  among  which  were  a  barn — a  barber's  shop — several  coarse  taverns 

[14] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN 

or  boarding  houses — a  poor  house  and  house  of  correction — and  the  public  jail 
with  its  prison  yard — &  used  alike  for  criminals — for  maniacs  &  debtors.^ 

In  the  same  address  Silliman  tells  us  that  the  Faculty  when  he  was 
a  Freshman  included  the  President,  one  Professor,  who  was  disabled 
from  dutjs  and  three  tutors.  The  very  name  of  chemistry  was 
"hardly  known  in  the  institution."  The  mineral  collection  was  so 
small  that  when  the  College  wished  to  have  the  specimens  properly 
labeled  those  that  were  thought  of  enough  value  to  be  named  were 
put  in  a  small  portable  box  and  taken  to  Philadelphia  in  the  public 
stage.  The  entire  "philosophical  apparatus"  could  be  easily  put  in 
a  student's  room  in  Connecticut  Hall.^  Silliman's  description  of  it, 
in  view  of  the  present  scientific  equipment  of  the  University,  is  of 
historical  interest : 

An  air  pump — a  whirling  table — a  telescope  or  two  an  electrical  machine — 
a  quadrant,  a  theodolite  the  mechanical  powers  a  spouting  fountain  &  a  few  mis- 
cellaneous articles  were  sufficient  to  excite  our  wonder  &  to  procure  some  reputa- 
tion for  the  college,  especially  in  pneumatics  mechanics  &  electricity.  In  pneu- 
matics however,  the  air  pump  would,  with  difficulty,  kill  a  mouse,  when  placed  upon 
its  plate  under  a  receiver,  so  imperfect  was  its  exhaustion ;  but  the  electrical  machine 
produced  more  brilliant  results.* 

The  morals  of  the  day  were  not  good,  and  religion  did  not  hold 
a  place  of  honor.  The  French  Revolution  was  having  its  effect. 
Silliman  tells  us  that  of  the  students  "very  few  then  avowed  them- 
selves, decidedly,  as  christians."  Yet  good  manners  were  in  public 
punctiliously  observed,  especially  in  such  matters  as  removing  the 
cap  when  at  certain  regulated  distances  from  members  of  the  Faculty, 
culminating  in  the  case  of  the  President,  to  whom  the  students  began 
bowing  "almost  as  far  as  we  could  see  him — or  at  least  as  far  as  he 

1  Hon.  James  Hillhouse  (B.A.  1773),  to  whom  New  Haven  is  indebted  for  becoming  the 
"City  of  Elms,"  was  the  efficient  Treasurer  of  the  University  from  1782  to  1832,  and  was 
mainly  responsible,  with  President  Dwlght,  for  securing  for  the  College  this  large  section  of 
the  present  Campus,  and  for  bringing  about  the  legislative  act  of  1792,  by  which,  in  return 
for  placing  the  Governor,  Lieutenant  Governor,  and  the  six  senior  Assistants  in  the  Council 
of  the  state  on  the  Corporation,  a  substantial  financial  grant  was  secured. 

2  MS.  of  Silliman's  Address  before  Alumni  in  1842,  p.  30. 

3  "It  was  in  the  old  college,  second  left,  north  east  corner,  now  No.  56,"  Fisher,  Life  of 
Silliman,  Vol.  I,  p.  88. 

4  MS.  of  Silliman's  Address  before  Alumni  in  1842,  p.  41. 

[  15  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

could  see  us."  The  upper  classmen  were  recognized  by  law  and 
custom  as  the  "mentors  and  monitors"  of  the  younger  classes,  and 
were  allowed  to  enforce  the  fagging  sj^stem.     Silliman  wi'ites : 

This  delicate  dut}'  was  often  discharged,  with  evident  advantage,  by  the  senior 
class,  towards  the  freshmen; — they  were,  early  after  their  arrival,  formed  in  line, 
in  the  long  gallery  of  the  old  chapel;  the  senior  class  being  arranged  parallel  to  & 
fronting  them,  when  one  of  their  number — a  man  selected  for  his  gravity  &  weight 
of  character  explained  to  the  novices,  the  peculiar  customs  of  the  college,  espe- 
cially in  regard  to  manners;  the  lesson  was  given  with  dignity  &  kindness,  and 
received  &  regarded  in  a  proper  spirit.  Thus  far  was  very  well,  but  the  interference 
of  the  inferior  classes  with  the  freshman  class,  and  especially  of  the  sophomore  in 
lecturing — disciplining  &  sending  of  errands — usually  vexatious  &  often  insulting, 
was  only  mischievous.  The  freshmen  were  the  errand-boys  of  their  superiors,  and 
were  not  allowed  to  wear  gowns  nor  to  carry  canes.  On  the  evening  preceding  the 
public  commencement,  they  first  assumed  the  toga,  &  the  cane;  and  then  ostenta- 
tiously paraded  the  college  yard  in  close  phalanx — fencing  their  way  through 
crowds  of  people,  assembled  to  view  the  illumination  of  the  college  windows,  & 
the  dazzling  pyrotechnics  of  mounting  rockets — and  burning  wheels  revolving  with 
blazing  corrunations  &  fiery  serpents,  flying  through  the  air  with  comet  trains  along 
the  line  of  the  college  yard.° 

Of  his  Freshman  year  at  Yale  we  know  little,  except  that  he  was 
fined  sixpence  by  President  Stiles  for  being  caught  kicking  a  football 
on  the  Campus,  then  called  the  College  Yard.  He  joined  Brothers 
in  Unity,  where  he  read  an  essay  on  natural  history  indicative  of  the 
subject  of  his  future  interest.  Extracts  from  his  journal  reflect 
accurately  his  life  and  problems  during  the  latter  part  of  the  college 
course: 

1795;  Aug.  13 Studied  in  the  forenoon;  in  the  evening  went  to  Broth- 
ers in  Unity  Society;  returned  to  my  room  with  Bishop,  Robbins,  and  Tucker.  We 
dressed  Robbins  in  the  beau  mode,  but  making  a  little  too  much  noise,  Mr.  Linsly 
came  up  to  still  us.  Nevertheless,  we  finished  the  transformation  of  Robbins,  and 
he  strutted  around  college  with  considerable  dignity.  We  raised  the  electrical  kite 
this  day,  but  the  air  was  too  near  an  equilibrium  to  afford  any  of  the  fluid. 

Aug.  17. — I  have  been  this  evening  to  the  <I>BK.  Sellcck  has  been  out  in  town 
and  is  not  yet  returned.  I  do  not  recollect  that  I  have  this  day  been  guilty  of  any 
material  error.  I  wish,  however,  to  gain  the  ascendency  over  my  irascibility,  and 
to  cultivate  the  heavenly  virtue  of  affability  and  complacency  to  all,  that  so  my  life, 
whether  short  or  long,  may  be  both  more  agreeable  to  myself  and  to  others. 

5  Ibid.,  pp.  51,  52. 

[16]    ' 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN 

Aug.  22 I  copied  compositions  all  the  forenoon,  and  went  to  recitation 

at  eleven.     The  class  recited  about  half  round,  and  because  two  of  them  missed  and 

had  not  studied  their  recitations,  Mr.  S jumped  up  in  a  pet  and  told  the  class 

to  get  their  recitations  better,  and  to  come  prepared  to  recite  the  same  recitation 
on  Monday,  and  went  out  of  the  chapel  with  amazing  velocity.  In  consequence  of 
his  intemperate  conduct,  the  class  were  very  much  oflfended,  and  declared  that  they 
would  not  give  him  a  present.  I  think  that  he  ought  to  have  commanded  his  temper, 
although  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  a  man  ought  to  have  the  patience  of  Job  to 
officiate  as  a  tutor  in  the  college 

Sept.  8 — I  stayed  at  Mrs.  Hill's  all  the  forenoon,  copied  tunes,  fluted,  &c.  Dr. 
Dwight  was  to  have  been  inducted  into  the  office  of  President  at  ten  A.M.,  but 
through  some  misfortune  was  not,  and  it  was  postponed  until  six  P.M.,  when  I 
attended  in  the  chapel,  which  was  filled  with  clergyman,  students,  &c.  The  cere- 
mony was  begun  by  an  anthem;  then  a  Latin  oration  and  address  to  the  President 
elect,  by  Mr.  Williams.  The  President  then  made  a  Latin  oration  and  addresses 
to  the  corporation,  and  the  whole  was  concluded  b}^  an  anthem  called  "The  Heavenly 
Vision."  The  first  act  of  power  exercised  by  the  new  President  was — "cantatur 
anthema."  I  then  went  to  supper  and  then  to  college,  to  see  the  illumination  and 
fireworks :  the  illumination  was  partial,  as  well  the  fireworks,  but  the  music  was  very 
good.  I  walked  the  yard  with  Page,  and  feel  considerably  fatigued,  but  hope  to 
receive  no  material  injury  from  my  extraordinary  exercise. 

Nov.  1. — Clear  and  cold,  but  a  very  healthy  air.  I  attended  meeting  all  day 
in  the  chapel,  and  was  well  entertained  with  two  excellent  sermons  from  the  Presi- 
dent. One  of  them  (the  first)  was  upon  the  subject  of  indifference  in  the  affairs 
of  religion,  which  he  thought  to  be  a  greater  crime  than  direct  opposition.  The 
other  was  upon  the  authenticity  of  the  account  which  the  Evangelists  have  given 
of  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  impossibility  of  the  apostles 
being  either  deceived  or  deceivers. 

Nov.  6 — I  think  that  I  have  never  seen  college  in  so  regular  a  situation  as  at 
present.  There  are  no  disturbances,  and  the  students  attend  the  exercises  with 
punctuality.  Vigorous  prej^arations  are  making  for  commons,  and  we  shall  enter 
the  hall  next  week  on  Tuesday. 

Nov.  9 — I  rose  as  early  as  usual,  attended  prayers,  and  wrote  in  a  part  of  the 
forenoon  upon  the  question,  "Whether  a  minority  can  ever  be  justified  in  rebelling 
against  a  majority."  In  the  afternoon  I  read  and  wrote  upon  the  following  question: 
"Whether  the  mental  abilities  of  the  females  are  equal  to  those  of  the  male," — of 
the  affirmative  of  which  I  am  a  strenuous  advocate. 

Nov.  1 1 —  ....  I  rose  as  early  as  usual,  and  attended  prayers ;  then  returned. 
I  wrote  poetry  in  the  greater  part  of  the  forenoon  with  tolerable  success,  and  the 
same  in  the  afternoon,  and  likewise  in  the  evening,  until  Marsh,  a  graduate,  came 
in,  and  after  him  Tucker,  Cantey,  Bassett,  &c.,  &c.  We  drank  a  few  glasses  of 
wine,  and  the  conversation  ran  upon  politics  in  general,  and  particularly  upon  the 
corruption  of  some  of  our  great  men,  the  state  of  France,  of  England,  &c.  Matters 
ran  pretty  high,  as  is  generally  the  case  in  politics.     Many  men  who  in  private  life 

[17] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

are  of  the  most  amiable  and  gentle  dispositions,  when  they  come  to  converse  upon 
politics  are  ravenous  wolves.  The  company  did  not  break  up  until  past  ten.  We 
invited  Marsh  to  stop  at  our  room,  which  he  did,  and  I  slept  with  Prince  at  his 
room. 

Jan.  6. — It  was  so  dark  by  4  P.M.  that  I  could  not  study,  and  went  to  Prince  and 
Bishop's  room,  where  I  enjoyed  conversation  until  prayer-time,  upon  politics  and 
smoking.  I  asserted  that  smoking  was  attended  with  nothing  of  a  beneficial  nature, 
and  that  it  was  a  very  bad  habit.  Bishop,  on  the  contrary,  (who,  by  the  way,  is  an 
old  smoker)  defended  it  with  all  the  pathos  of  a  person  contending  for  his  dearest 
rights:  and  the  result  of  the  whole  was,  that  he  should  enjoy  his  opinions  and  I 
mine.  He  thought  that  I  was  wrong,  but  I  knew  that  he  was.  Different  persons 
will  have  different  opinions,  and  as  long  as  this  is  the  case,  should  learn  to  respect, 
although  we  cannot  believe,  the  opinions  of  others.  This  is  called,  in  one  word, 
candor.*^ 

These  quotations  give  a  picture  familiar  to  Yale  men  of  the  hearty, 
strong  undergraduate,  interested  in  everything  about  him,  and 
gaining  much  from  college  work  and  from  the  interchange  of  opinion 
with  his  associates.  The  type  of  subjects  which  they  discussed  may 
be  gathered  from  the  following  questions  which  Silliman  was 
assigned  to  debate  in  Phi  Beta  Kappa:  "Whether  the  treaty  lately 
concluded  between  the  United  States  of  America  and  Great 
Britain  ought  to  have  been  ratified  by  the  President  and  Senate," 
and  "Whether  marriage  is  a  beneficial  institution."  Both  questions 
were  decided  in  the  affirmative. 

Of  undergraduate  influences  none  was  greater  than  that  of 
Dr.  Dwight  (q.v.).  His  strong  character,  ability,  and  sympathy 
with  young  men,  made  an  immediate  impression  that  is  reflected  in 
the  extracts  from  the  diary  given  above.  The  old  rule  of  infidelity 
in  religion  and  of  organized  student  "rebellions,"  so  common  under 
Stiles,  was  never  prominent  in  the  new  administration,  and  Silliman 
always  felt  that  Dwight's  teaching,  preaching,  and  example  had  been 
potent  factors  in  his  own  development. 

On  graduation  he  delivered  a  "Poetical  Oration"  on  the  com- 
parative effects  of  the  different  states  of  society  and  climate  upon 
the  various  nations  of  the  world.     He  was  still  undecided  as  to  his 

9  Fisher,  Life  of  Benjamin  Silliman,  Vol.  I,  pp.  29-42. 

[18] 


Benjamin  Silliman 

Class  of   179(> 


y  I    YALE  MEN 

I  the  most  nmiabJc  and  gentle  dispositions,  when  they  come  to  converse  upon 
politics  are  ravenous  wolves.  The  company  did  not  break  up  until  past  ten.  We 
invited  Marsh  to  stop  at  our  room,  which  he  did,  and  I  Ml.>pt  with  Prince  at  his 
room. 

'an.  6. — It  was  so  dark  by  4  P.M.  that  I  could  not  study,  and  went  to  Prince  and 
JL5i>. hop's  room,  where  I  enjoyed  conver.sation  until  prayer-time,  \x\um  politics  and 
smoking.  I  asserted  that  smoking  was  attended  with  nothing  of  a  beneficial  nature, 
and  that  it  was  a  very  bad  habit.  Bishop,  on  the  contrary,  (who,  by  the  way,  is  an 
:  qioker)  defended  it  with  all  the  pathos  of  a  person  contending  for  his  dearest 
■  ;;  and  the  result  of  the  whole  was,  that  he  should  enjoy  his  opinions  and  I 
mine.  He  thought  that  I  was  wrong,  but  I  knew  that  he  was.  Different  persons 
will  have  different  opinions,  and  as  long  as  this  is  the  case,  should  learn  to  respect, 
although  we  cannot  believe,  the  opinions  of  others.  This  is  called,  in  one  word, 
candor.® 

These  quotations  give  a  picture  familiar  to  Yale  men  of  the  hearty, 
strong  undergraduate,  interested  in  everything  about  him,  and 
gaining  much  from  college  work  and  from  the  interchange  of  opinion 
with  his  associates.  The  type  of  subjects  which  they  discussed  may 
be    gathered    from    the    following    questions    which    Silliman    was 

ned  to  debate  in  Plii  Beta  Kappa:    "Whether  the  treaty  lately 

tided  between  the  United  States  of  America  and  Great 
..  i.iin  ought  to  have  been  ratified  by  the  President  and  Senate," 
and  "Whether  marriage  is  a  beneficial  institution."  Both  questions 
were  decided  in  the  affirmative. 

Of  undergraduate  influences  none  was  greater  than  that  of 
Dr.  D wight  (q.v.).  His  strong  character,  ability,  and  sj^mpathy 
^m+Ij  young  men,  made  an  immediate  impression  that  is  reflected  in 
the  extracts  from  the  diary  given  above.  The  old  rule  of  infidelity 
in  religion  and  of  organized  student  "rebellions,"  so  common  under 
'  '  s,  was  never  prominent  in  the  new  administration,  and  Silliman 

ys  felt  that  D wight's  teaching,  preaching,  and  example  had  been 

it  factors  in  his  own  development. 

^h\  graduation  he  delivered  a  "Poetical  Oration"  on  the  com- 

**fffrts  of  the  different  states  of  society  and  climate  upon 

■  ions  of  the  world.    He  was  still  undecided  as  to  his 

MAMIJJ18    VHMALX^n^ 

fitnjamin  Sillivian.  \  :A.  I.  jip.  29-43. 

fieri  %o  ?,8ajD 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN 

profession.  "I  wont  be  a  doctor,"  he  said,  "I  am  not  good  enough 
for  a  priest;  and  lawj^ers  are  so  plenty  that  they  can  hardly  get  a 
case  apiece."^  In  this  uncertainty  he  did  as  hundreds  of  other  good 
men  have  done :  he  helped  for  a  year  on  his  father's  farm,  then  taught 
school,  and  ended  up  in  the  law  office  of  Hon.  Simeon  Baldwin 
(B.A.  1781).  These  occupations  all  gave  him  good  experience,  but 
he  did  not  find  his  metier  until  President  Dwight  offered  him  a  tutor- 
ship, and  later,  in  1802,  selected  him  for  the  newly  established  chair 
of  Chemistry  and  Natural  History.  From  the  first  moment  that  he 
began  college  teaching  he  was  highly  successful.  The  students  greatly 
admired  him.  He  was  handsome,  broad-minded,  cultivated,  magnetic, 
and  seemed  to  belong  to  a  new  age.  When  he  joined  the  College 
Church,  in  connection  with  the  revival  of  1802,  his  action  created  a 
profound  impression  on  the  student  body.  Under  date  of  September 
5,  he  wrote,  "This  day  I  intend,  with  the  permission  and  assistance 
of  the  good  Spirit  of  God,  to  give  myself  up  publicly  in  a  perpetual 
covenant  with  God  as  my  Father,  with  Jesus  Christ  as  my  Saviour, 
and  with  the  Holy  Ghost  as  my  Sanctifier."  Suffice  it  to  saj^  that  he 
continued  through  life  faithful  to  this  resolve.  The  genuine  interest 
in  religion  among  the  students  was  so  great  at  this  time  that  sixty- 
three  of  them  united  with  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Yale  College.^ 

Silliman's  call  to  a  full  professorship  at  the  age  of  twenty-three 
is  remarkable  in  Yale  annals.  The  nearest  approach  to  it  is  the  case 
of  Alexander  M.  Fisher  (q.v.) ,  who  was  promoted  to  a  similar  position 
when  only  twenty-five.  The  selection  honors  Dr.  Dwight  as  much 
as  Tutor  Silliman,  for  the  latter  had  not  as  yet  made  any  really 
scientific  study  of  the  subjects  covered  by  his  professorship.  But 
the  President  clearly  recognized  his  latent  capacit\\  The  young 
teacher  accepted  the  appointment,  spent  two  winters  studying  in 
Philadelphia,  which,  thanks  to  the  influence  of  Benjamin  Franklin, 
was  then  the  principal  center  of  scientific  work  in  America,  and  April 

7  Ibid.,  p.  44. 

8  Quarterly  Register  for   1838,  p.  296,   Article  by   Professor  Goodrich,   quoted   in   Two 
Centuries  of  Christian  Activity  at  Yale,  p.  64. 

[19] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

4,  1804,  gave  to  the  Senior  class  at  Yale,  in  a  room  in  Mr.  Tuttle's 
house  on  Chapel  Street,  opposite  South  College,  a  lecture  on  "the 
history  and  progress,  nature  and  ohjects,  of  chemistry."^  The  date 
and  place  deserve  commemoration,  for  this  M^as  the  beginning  of  the 
teaching  of  science — other  than  mathematics — at  Yale,  on  anything 
like  a  modern  basis.  "Natural  Philosophy"  had,  indeed,  been  made 
part  of  the  title  of  a  professorship  in  1770,  and  had  been  effectively 
taught  even  earlier  by  President  Clap — but  before  Silliman's  day 
the  instruction  in  science  had  been  practically  without  experiment 
or  laboratory  tests.  In  comparison  with  his  Y^ale  predecessors,  he 
seems  like  a  modern  man.  He  could  easily  have  adjusted  himself  to 
the  conditions  of  a  twentieth  century  museum  and  laboratory,  and  this 
could  not  be  said  of  the  others.  They  were  abreast  of  their  time,  but 
he  was  ahead  of  his,  and  was  destined  to  be  the  most  prominent  figure 
of  his  generation  in  making  modern  science  a  reality  to  the  American 
people.  After  a  j^ear's  successful  teaching,  he  went  abroad  for  the 
purchase  of  apparatus,  and  for  further  study.  He  was  entrusted  by 
the  Corporation  with  the  responsible  task  of  expending  nine  thousand 
dollars — a  large  sum  for  those  days — in  the  "renewing"  of  the 
Library,  and  of  the  scientific  equipment  of  the  College.  On  his  return 
he  applied  himself  with  increased  enthusiasm  to  his  work.  In  1808 
he  began  his  courses  of  public  lectm-es  on  chemistry  which,  in  his 
later  life,  and  especially  in  the  decade  beginning  with  1834,  became 
almost  a  national  institution,  as  thej^  were  repeated  in  different  parts 
of  the  country.  His  magnetic  power  as  a  teacher,  his  commanding 
presence,  his  melodious  voice,  and  the  newness  and  inherent  interest 
of  his  subject,  made  his  lectures  extremely  popular.  He  had  the 
power,  rare  among  college  professors,  of  interesting  working-men. 
This  was  so  marked  that  ISIr.  James  Brewster,  of  New  Haven,  erected 
Franklin  Hall  for  the  special  purpose  of  providing  evening  instruc- 
tion by  Professors  Silliman,  Olmsted,  and  others,  for  the  mechanics 
of  New  Haven.     The  founder  of  this  movement  believed  that  "this 

9  Fisher,  lAfe  of  Benjamin  Silliman,  Vol.  I,  p.  121. 

[20] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN 

was  the  first  time  ....  that  College  Professors  had  gone  out  to 
lecture  to  the  people  upon  natural  and  mechanical  science."^"  Of 
Silliman's  power  as  a  lecturer,  President  Woolsey  has  given  eloquent 
testimony  that  is  amply  borne  out  b}^  other  evidence : 

As  a  lecturer  he  was  almost  unsurpassed.  Without  a  severe  logical  method, 
he  threw  so  much  zeal  into  his  discourse,  expressed  himself  with  such  an  attractive 
rhetoric,  and  supported  his  doctrine  by  experiments  of  such  almost  unfailing  beauty 
and  success,  that  all  audiences  delighted  to  hear  him;  so  that  for  years  no  lecturer 
so  attractive  could  address  an  assembly,  whether  gathered  within  the  walls  of  a 
college  or  from  the  people  of  crowded  cities.  In  his  own  lecture-room  the  students 
felt  the  genial  sway  of  his  oratory.  No  other  such  instructions  were  given,  uniting  at 
once  pleasure  and  improvement.  Hence  for  many  years  the  study  of  chemistry  was, 
perhaps,  the  most  popular  one  in  the  institution.  In  the  latter  years  of  his  profes- 
sional life  the  science  of  geology  seemed  to  take  the  largest  share  of  his  interest. 
And,  here,  the  grandeur  of  the  subject-matter  seemed  especially  fitted  to  kindle  and 
exalt  his  fervor.^^ 

In  addition  to  his  inspiring  teaching,  Silliman  rendered  to  the 
University  signal  service  in  several  directions.  He  was  identified 
with  the  starting  of  the  Medical  School,  where  he  was  Professor  of 
Chemistry  and  Pharmacy.  He  secured  for  the  University,  at  a  cost 
of  twenty  thousand  dollars,  its  first  great  scientific  collection — the 
Gibbs  Cabinet  of  Minerals,  containing  ten  thousand  specimens. 
These  were  placed  in  the  north  end  of  the  second  floor  of  Connecticut 
Hall,  which  was  made  over  into  a  single  room.^"  He  was  also  respon- 
sible for  obtaining  the  Trumbull  Collection  of  Historical  Paintings, 
one  of  Yale's  most  priceless  possessions,  and  valuable  to  every  student 
of  the  American  Revolution.  The  artist.  Colonel  John  Trumbull, 
was  an  uncle  of  Mrs.  Silliman — which,  under  the  circumstances,  was 
a  most  fortunate  fact  for  Yale,  as  the  Colonel  was  himself  a  Harvard 
graduate.  But,  perhaps,  the  greatest  service  which  he  performed 
for  the  University  and  for  the  country  was  the  founding,  in  1818, 
at  large  pecuniary  risk,  of  the  American  Journal  of  Science,  a 
magazine  which  still  retains,  under  Yale  editorship,  a  most  important 
position  in  the  scientific  world.     He  conducted  the  Journal  himself 

iolbid.,  Vol.  II,  p.  326.  11  Ibid.,  Vol.  II,  p.  380.         12  Ibid.,  Vol.  I,  p.  256. 

[  21  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

for  twenty-eight  years  with  signal  success.  It  was  so  identified  with 
his  name  that  it  was  generally  spoken  of  during  his  lifetime  as 
"Silliman's  Journal."  To  its  pages  he  himself  contributed  largely, 
but,  in  spite  of  the  importance  of  some  of  his  articles,  his  fame  rests 
not  on  his  research  work,  but  on  his  leadership  in  the  cause  of  scientific 
education.  This  made  it  natural  that  he  should  be  one  of  the  original 
members  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  founded  in  1863. 

In  addition  to  his  writings  on  chemistry  and  geology,  he  was  the 
author  of  several  well-known  volumes  of  travel  in  Europe  and 
America.  He  was  an  earnest  friend  of  literary  culture  and  of 
popular  education,  and  a  patriot.  No  officer  of  the  University,  from 
the  death  of  the  elder  Dwight  to  the  elevation  of  Woolsey  to  the 
presidency,  was  so  well  known  in  the  country  at  large,  and  no  one 
in  its  history  has  done  more  to  assure  the  permanency  of  Yale's 
national  position.^^  It  was,  therefore,  not  unnatural  that,  although 
a  layman  and  a  scientist,  he  was  prominently  mentioned  for  the 
succession  to  President  Day.  No  finer  tribute  to  Silliman  has  been 
paid  than  that  of  President  Woolsey:  "He  was,  among  all  the  men 
who  have  lived  in  the  city  of  New  Haven  during  the  century,  as  I 
think  will  be  conceded  by  everybody,  the  most  finished  gentleman. 
And  this  was  true  of  liim  in  the  highest  sense.  I  mean,  that  it  per- 
tained not  to  his  exterior,  but  to  his  character  and  his  soul."^*  His 
biographer.  Professor  Fisher,  has  used  these  words  of  Cowper  as 
suggestive  of  his  subject: 

Peace  to  the  memory  of  a  man  of  worth, 

A  man  of  letters,  and  of  manners  too ! 

Of  manners  sweet  as  virtue  always  wears, 

When  gay  good  nature  dresses  her  in  smiles. 

He  graced  a  college,  in  which  order  yet 

Was  sacred;  and  was  honored,  loved  and  wept, 

By  more  than  one,  themselves  conspicuous  there. 

He  is  commemorated  at  the  University  by  the  Silliman  Fellow- 
ship and  the  Silliman  Professorship  of  Geology,  by  a  statue  in  front 

13  Dwight,  Memories  of  Yale  Life  and  Men,  p.  115. 
i*Ibid.,  p.  114. 

[22] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN 

of  the  old  Sloane  Physics  Laboratory,  by  the  Ives  bust  in  the  Library, 
and  by  two  portraits.  His  papers,  including  sections  of  his  manu- 
script journal,  are  in  the  University  Library.  An  elaborate 
biography,  in  two  volumes,  has  been  prepared  by  Rev.  Professor 
George  P.  Fisher,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Life  of  Benjamin  Silliman,  M.D., 
JLLi.D.,  Late  Professor  of  Chemistry,  Mineralogy,  and  Geology  in 
Yale  College. 


To  the  Hon.  David  Daggett  and  the  Hon.  Roger  Minot  Sherman,  a  committee 
of  the  association  of  the  Alumni  of  Yale  College 

Gentlemen — In  complying  with  the  request  contained  in  your  note  which 
I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge,  I  am  influenced  by  a  wish  to  promote,  in 
however  humble  a  manner,  the  design  of  the  association  which  you  represent ; 
regretting,  at  the  same  time,  that  this  step  is  rendered,  to  a  degree,  necessary, 
by  the  absence  of  the  more  important  communication,  which  we  had  hoped  for. 
I  remain  gentlemen  with  the  highest  respect 

Your  friend  &  servant 

B.  Silliman 
Yale  College 

Aug  20—1842 

As  indicated  on  the  reverse  side  of  this  dedication,  it  is  the  title 
page  of  "An  address  delivered  before  the  association  of  the  Alumni 
of  Yale  College  in  New  Haven  August  17 — 1842  by  Professor 
Silliman."  The  entire  manuscript  is  in  the  author's  collection.  It 
contains  a  memorandum  showing  that  it  was  prepared  in  haste,  being 
begun  Friday  night,  July  20,  and  finished  the  following  evening. 
As  it  contains  thirty-eight  sheets  written  on  both  sides,  which  when 
printed  formed  an  octavo  pamphlet  of  fortj^-four  pages,  and  as  it 
contains  much  historical  and  statistical  matter,  it  must  be  conceded 
that  its  preparation  in  so  short  a  time  is  good  evidence  of  its  author's 
mental  alertness  at  the  age  of  sixty-three.  The  address  is  mainly 
devoted  to  a  comparison  of  conditions  in  1792,  when  he  was  a  Fresh- 
man, and  in  1842,  when  he  was  Alumni  Orator.     It  is  specially 

[23] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

valuable  for  its  descriptions  of  college  life  in  the  closing  days  of  the 
Stiles  administration.    These  have  been  frequently  quoted  in  the  text. 

The  Association  of  the  Alumni  was  formed  in  1827,  but  it 
assumed  new  importance  with  this  meeting  in  1842.  Silliman's  was 
the  first  of  the  regular  series  of  Alumni  Orations.  These  continued 
for  a  generation  a  prominent  factor  of  Commencement  week. 

David  Daggett  (B.A.  1783)  and  Roger  M.  Sherman  (q.v.), 
whose  note  requesting  the  address  for  publication  is  attached,  were 
both  eminent  graduates.  The  former  was  a  United  States  Senator 
and  Chief  Justice  of  Connecticut.  The  latter  was  Justice  of  the 
Connecticut  Supreme  Court. 


[24] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— ELIAS  LOOMIS 

Elias  Loomis 
Class  of  1830 

Born,  August  7,  1811;  Died,  August  15,  1889 
Authority  on  Meteorology 

Elias  Loomis  is  one  of  the  most  strongly  marked  personalities 
connected  with  the  Yale  teaching  force  in  the  nineteenth  century. 
He  was  such  a  picturesque  character,  a  man  about  whom  so  many 
quaint  stories  were  told,  that  the  Yale  brotherhood  has  perhaps  not 
fully  appreciated  the  importance  of  his  contributions  to  science.  But 
these  gained  for  him  an  election  to  the  National  Academy,  and 
membership  in  many  of  the  representative  learned  societies  of  Europe. 
His  scientific  knowledge  and  powers  of  presentation  also  made 
possible  a  series  of  mathematical  text  books  that  rendered  a  national 
service  to  education.  He  was  the  eldest  son  of  a  Connecticut 
Congregational  minister,  and  was  born  in  Willington,  a  hamlet  in 
Tolland  County.  His  preparation  for  college  was  mainly  cared  for 
by  his  father,  although  he  had  the  advantage  of  one  winter's  study 
at  the  Monson  (Massachusetts)  Academy.  He  was  ready  for 
admission  to  Yale  at  fourteen,  but  postponed  entering  for  another 
year,  owing  to  feeble  health. 

His  undergraduate  course  was  marked  by  high,  but  not  brilliant, 
scholarship  in  all  studies.  Although  he  later  specialized  in  mathe- 
matics, he  was  at  this  time  equally  proficient  in  languages,  having 
learned  to  read  his  New  Testament  easily  in  the  original  as  a  lad. 
President  Porter,  who  was  in  the  class  behind  him,  remembered  "the 
retiring  demeanor  of  the  young  student,  and  his  concise  and  often 
monosyllabic  expressions,  peculiarities  which  he  retained  through 
life."^  During  his  last  two  years  in  college  he  roomed  with  Alfred 
E.  Perkins,  by  whose  early  death  in  1834  the  College  received  ten 
thousand  dollars  for  the  Library,  then  the  largest  gift  from  any 

1  Newton,  Memorial  Address,  p.  4. 

[  25  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

individual  since  the  time  of  Governor  Yale.  Loomis  spoke  at  the 
Junior  Exhibition  on  the  "Unreasonableness  of  Popular  Prejudice." 
His  oration  at  Commencement  was  on  "The  Influence  of  Emulation 
on  the  Progress  of  INIental  Improvement,"  but  he  was  excused  from 
speaking.  "Mental  Improvement"  was  the  object  to  which  he 
devoted  his  time  as  an  undergraduate,  but  he  was  not  so  detached 
from  student  life  as  to  fail  to  sign  a  petition  supporting  the  "Bread 
and  Butter  Rebellion."  In  this  Loomis  and  the  great  majority  of 
undergraduates  united,  pledging  themselves  "to  deathless  friendsliip," 
as  an  evidence  of  sympathy  for  four  expelled  students  who  had 
refused  to  compty  with  the  faculty  order  to  return  to  Commons.^ 
His  signature,  with  that  of  Henry  Barnard,  Ray  Palmer,  and  other 
well-known  men,  may  be  seen  on  the  statement  issued  by  the  leaders 
of  the  rebellion  August  1,  1828,  supporting  their  position  because 
the  authorities  had  not  made  the  steward  observe  the  college  law 
that  he  should  "at  all  times  cause  the  table  to  be  decently  spread  and 
attended."  He  was  much  interested  in  the  Linonia  Society,  in  which 
he  held  important  offices,  and  where  he  delivered  as  a  "Senior  Orator" 
an  address  on  "The  Advantages  of  Emulation  in  Literature."  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Moral  Society,  which  he  joined  in  Fresh- 
man year,  as  well  as  of  the  Philencratian  Society.  His  Senior  year 
autograph  album — a  Yale  institution  in  the  middle  of  the  last 
century — is  preserved  in  the  University  Library. 

A  year  of  school  teaching  near  Baltimore,  and  of  theological 
study  at  Andover,  where  he  led  his  class  in  Hebrew,  preceded  his 
term  as  tutor  at  Yale.  Here  he  taught  Latin  the  first  year,  mathe- 
matics the  second,  and  natural  philosophy  the  third.  It  seems  to 
have  been  the  great  meteoric  shower  of  1833,  in  which  Professor 
Olmsted  and  Professor  Twining  were  deeply  interested,  that  turned 
his  attention  definitely  to  making  science,  and  especially  meteoro- 
logical science,  his  life  study.'      His  work  as  a  tutor  was  highly 

2  Kingsley,  Yale  College,  Vol.  I,  pp.  126,  127. 

3  Newton,  Memorial  Address,  p.  6. 

[26] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— ELIAS  LOOMIS 

satisfactory.  The  fact  is  remembered  that  at  this  time,  with  crude 
instruments,  he  determined  the  latitude  and  longitude  of  the  tower 
of  the  Athenaeum  (the  old  building  south  of  Connecticut  Hall)  within 
two  seconds  of  the  most  accurate  modern  computation.*  He  had  the 
able  Class  of  1837  under  his  instruction,  and  later  gained  from  one 
of  its  most  representative  men,  Morrison  R.  Waite  (q.v.),  Chief 
Justice  of  the  United  States,  this  tribute:  "If  I  have  been  successful 
in  life,  I  owe  that  success  to  the  influence  of  Tutor  Loomis  more  than 
to  any  other  cause  whatever."^  After  a  year  of  study  in  Paris, 
following  the  resignation  of  his  tutorship,  he  accepted  the  professor- 
ship of  Mathematics  and  Philosophy  in  Western  Reserve  College, 
an  institution  having  many  bonds  with  Yale,  from  which  she  received 
three  of  her  Presidents  and  eleven  of  her  Professors  during  her  first 
half  century.  He  served  eight  years  there,  and  then  went  to  similar 
positions  at  New  York  University,  and  at  Princeton  College.  In 
1860  he  was  elected  to  the  professorship  of  Natural  Philosophy  and 
Astronomj'^  at  Yale,  and  returned  to  New  Haven  to  spend  the 
remainder  of  his  life. 

Professor  Loomis'  work  was  done  in  three  educational  lines: 
investigation,  teaching,  and  the  writing  of  text  books.  His  most 
valuable  researches  were  in  the  field  of  meteorology^  These  led  him 
to  devise  a  method  of  indicating  atmospheric  conditions  that  was 
of  epoch-making  importance  in  this  science.  The  paper  in  which 
his  investigations  were  recounted  and  presented  in  graphic  form,  was 
read  in  1843,  at  the  centennial  meeting  of  the  American  Philosophical 
Society.  The  subject  was  the  "Storms  of  1842,"  and  the  paper, 
according  to  Professor  Bache,  the  first  presiding  officer  of  the 
National  Academy  of  Sciences,  created  "a  great  sensation."  The 
charts  he  exhibited  each  included  a  series  of  lines  of  equal  deviations 
from  the  normal  average  pressure  for  each  locality,  other  lines  drawn 
through  points  at  stated  intervals,  above  and  below  normal,  colors 


4  Yale  A  lumni  Weekly  for  1912,  p.  656. 

5  Newton,  Memorial  Address,  p.  29. 


[27] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

representing  the  local  skj^  as  clear,  overcast,  or  rainy,  a  series  of  lines 
indicating  the  normal  temperature  and  temperature  of  ten,  twenty, 
and  thirty  degrees  below  and  above  the  normal,  and  arrows  whose 
direction  and  length  showed  the  prevailing  winds.  After  giving  a 
description  of  Professor  Loomis'  novel  method,  from  which  the  above 
has  been  condensed.  Professor  Newton  makes  this  significant 
statement : 

You  have  no  doubt,  most  of  you,  already  recognized  in  this  description  the 
charts,  which  today  are  so  common,  issued  by  the  United  States  Signal  Service,  and 
by  weather  service  Bureaus  in  other  countries.  The  method  seems  so  natural  that 
it  should  occur  to  any  person  who  has  the  subject  of  a  storm  under  consideration. 
But  the  greatest  inventions  are  ofttimes  the  simplest,  and  I  am  inclined  to  believe 
that  the  introduction  of  this  single  method  of  representing  and  discussing  the 
phenomena  of  a  storm  was  the  greatest  of  the  services  which  our  colleague  rendered 
to  science.  This  method  is  at  the  foundation  of  what  is  sometimes  called  "the  new 
meteorology,"  and  the  paper  which  contains  its  first  presentation  stands  forth,  I 
am  convinced,  as  the  most  important  paper  in  the  history  of  that  science." 

Connected  with  this  graphic  method  of  indicating  atmospheric 
conditions  was  the  active  part  he  played  in  the  movement  which 
resulted  in  the  establishment  of  the  United  States  Weather  Bureau. 
The  weather  was  his  main  "hobby."  He  made  investigations  in  many 
scientific  fields,  including  the  observation  of  shooting  stars,  the 
calculation  of  longitude,  the  velocity  of  the  electric  current,  terrestrial 
magnetism,  and  comets,  but  his  most  substantial  original  work  was 
in  his  papers  on  meteorology,  most  of  which  first  appeared  in  the 
American  Journal  of  Science.  In  connection  with  his  services  as  an 
investigator^  it  is  right  to  remember  that  he  left  to  the  University  for 
the  Observatory  the  ultimate  use  of  a  bequest  of  over  three  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  the  income  being  available  entirely  for  research  and 
publication. 

As  a  teacher  he  was  clear-cut  and  logical.  His  unemotional, 
methodical  appearance,  exactness  of  speech  and  observation,  and  his 
terse,   picturesque   method   of   expression,   made   him   the    Faculty 

6  Ibid.,  p.  21. 

7  In  another  field  of  investigation  he  published  the  Loomis  Genealogy,  with  information 
about  more  than  27,000  descendants  of  his  ancestor,  Joseph  Loomis. 

[28] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— ELIAS  LOOMIS 

"character"  par  excellence.     Here  are  some  recollections  of  one  of 
his  students: 

In  the  lecture  room  his  talks  on  physics  were  incisive  and  condensed  and  his 
experiments  worked  out  in  advance  with  a  care  which  rarely  left  room  for  imper- 
fection, much  less  for  failure,  but  usually  prefaced  with  the  saving  remark  "the 
nature  of  the  phenomenon  I  conceive  to  be  this."  To  him — and  to  another 
professor — of  chemistry — is  attributed  the  comment  after  the  failure  of  an 
experiment:  "Experiment  fails.  Principle  remains."  It  was  in  a  lecture  before 
a  division  of  the  Avriter's  class  in  the  old  building  that  stood  just  to  the  west  of 
the  present  Connecticut  Hall  that  the  Professor  scored  one  of  his  biggest  experi- 
mental triumphs.  He  was  secretly  proud  of  his  accurate  aim  with  the  air  gun  and 
had  hit  the  little  target  thirty  feet  away  several  times  and  once  at  the  center. 
Presently  came  a  shot  which  seemed  to  miss  the  target  altogether.  The  division 
laughed.  Loomis  peered  at  the  target  a  moment,  walked  up  to  it,  squinted  sidewise 
at  it  again,  drew  out  his  pocket  knife  and  dug  out  a  bullet  from  the  central  hole. 
"Last  bullet  in  the  exact  center  over  the  first,"  said  "Loom,"  and  amid  the  thunders 
of  applause  from  the  benches  one  saw  his  lips  part  in  his  rare  equation  of  a  real 
laugh.* 

It  was  as  a  writer  of  text  books  that  he  was  best  known  to  the 
public.  These  covered,  in  sixteen  volumes,  the  whole  field  of  mathe- 
matical work  in  high  school  and  college,  as  well  as  natural  philosophy, 
astronomy,  and  meteorology.  They  had  an  enormous  success  among 
teachers,  six  hundred  thousand  copies  being  sold  during  his  lifetime, 
the  sales  forming  the  basis  of  the  large  estate  which  he  left  to  the 
University.  This  series  did  much  to  improve  the  teaching  of 
mathematics  in  the  United  States. 

The  University  has  had  no  more  devoted  servant  than  Elias 
Loomis.  There  are  portraits  of  him  in  the  Observatory  and  in  the 
Dining  Hall;  and  he  is  commemorated  in  other  ways,  by  the  Loomis 
Fund  of  over  three  hundred  thousand  dollars  for  astronomical 
research  (in  possession  of  the  Treasurer,  but  subject  to  two  annuities) , 
by  Loomis  Place,  the  new  street  cut  through  Yale's  Observatory 
propert}^  and  by  the  simple  bronze  Loomis  memorial  (opposite  the 
main  inner  entrance  to  Woolsey  Hall)  bearing  this  legend:  "An 
exact  scholar,  an  astronomer  of  wide  repute,  in  meteorology  a  pioneer 

8  Yale  Alumni  Weekly  for  1912,  p.  656. 

[29] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

and  a  large  benefactor  of  this  University."  But  the  country''  bene- 
fited by  his  labors  as  much  as  Yale,  for  the  present  efficient  Weather 
Bureau  service,  which  is  of  vital  importance  to  the  agricultural  and 
commercial  interests  of  the  entire  population,  is  more  his  monument 
than  that  of  any  other  man. 

The   most   important    sketch   of   Professor    Loomis'    life    and 
character  is  the  Memorial  Address,  by  Professor  Hubert  A.  Newton. 


The  letter  is  a  brief  one,  dated  "Yale  College,  May  6,  1886," 
regarding  a  biographical  sketch.  "The  notice  you  sent  me  contains 
various  errors  and  I  propose  to  rewrite  it,  and  I  wish  to  know  how 
full  a  notice  you  are  willing  to  insert."  The  only  letters  of  Professor 
Loomis  which  the  author  has  seen  are  equally  brief,  business-like,  and 
uninteresting  from  a  literary  standpoint. 


[30] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— JAMES  DWIGHT  DANA 

James  Dwight  Dana 
Class  of  1833 

Born,  February  12,  1813;  Died,  April  14,  1895 
Geologist  and  Mineralogist 

Professor  Dana  had  the  distinction  of  following  an  eminent 
scientist  in  a  University  professorship,  and  of  adding  new  luster  to 
the  reputation  of  the  position.  As  Silliman's  successor  both  in  the 
chair  of  Geology  at  Yale,  and  in  the  editorship  of  the  American 
Journal  of  Science,  the  best  traditions  were  maintained,  and  even 
strengthened,  especially  on  the  side  of  original  investigation.  He 
was  born  in  Utica,  New  York,  and  entered  college  as  a  Sophomore, 
being  prepared  at  the  Utica  High  School.  He  was  attracted  to  Yale 
by  the  fame  of  Professor  Silliman  (q.v.).  His  undergraduate  room- 
mate was  George  E.  Day,  later  Professor  in  the  Divinity  School, 
and  part  donor  of  the  Day  Mission  Library.  Dana  showed  himself 
a  good  scholar,  especially  in  mathematics  and  natural  science,  but  his 
record  was  not  sufficiently  brilliant  to  indicate  his  future  eminence. 
His  recorded  averages  were  between  2.50  and  2.90  on  the  scale  of 
four,  and  his  appointment  at  graduation  was  only  a  Second  Dispute. 
His  classmates  little  dreamed  that  he  was  destined  to  become  one  of 
the  world's  greatest  geologists.  The  Gibbs  Collection  of  Minerals, 
then  the  most  extensive  in  the  country,  had  been  placed  on  exhibition 
in  Connecticut  Hall,  in  1812,  and  purchased  by  the  College  in  1825. 
This  collection,  the  nucleus  around  which  the  Peabody  Museum  has 
been  built  up,  deeply  interested  Dana.  His  biographer  states  that 
"no  one  is  likely  to  overestimate"^  its  influence  upon  his  mind.  He 
was  also  attracted  as  an  undergraduate  to  the  studj^  of  geology  by 
his  walks  near  New  Haven.  The  neighborhood  is  unusually  rich  both 
in  picturesque  scenery  and  in  interesting  geological  formations. 
These  expeditions,  which  were  continued  with  his  students  when  he 

1  Yale  Bicentennial  Celebration,  p.  353. 

[  31  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

joined  the  Faculty,  led  to  his  publishing  later  The  Four  Rocks  of 
the  New  Haven  Begion.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  Dana's  under- 
graduate habit  of  exploring  the  country-side  is  not  a  more  regular 
feature  of  student  life  today.  The  German  universities  have  much 
to  teach  American  students  in  this  matter. 

Dana's  biographer,  Professor  Gilman,  sums  up  his  reputation 
as  a  member  of  the  Class  of  1833  by  saying  that  he  "appears  to  have 
been  modest,  diligent,  faithful,  and  upright  giving  the  required 
attention  to  all  the  studies  which  made  up  the  fixed  curriculum,  with- 
out attracting  much  notice.""  He  was  a  member  of  Phi  Beta  Kappa. 
One  of  the  undergraduate  organizations  which  most  interested  liim 
was  the  Beethoven  Society,  in  which  he  played  the  flute.  Some  of 
its  records  have  been  preserved,  written  in  his  hand  as  secretary.^ 

After  graduation  he  served  as  an  instructor  in  mathematics  to 
midshipmen  in  the  Navy  (joining  the  "Delaware"  in  June  of  Senior 
year),  and  in  this  capacity  visited  the  seaports  of  the  Northern  Medi- 
terranean. This  was  followed,  after  a  brief  service  as  assistant  to 
Professor  Silliman,  by  a  more  important  government  appointment, 
that  of  JNIineralogist  and  Geologist  to  the  United  States  Exploring 
Expedition  to  the  Southern  Pacific,  under  Wilkes.  This  occupied 
almost  four  years.  The  study  of  the  scientific  material  which  he  had 
collected,  and  the  preparation  of  his  reports  on  "Zoophytes," 
"Geology  of  the  Pacific,"  and  "Crustacea"  occupied  the  major 
portion  of  his  time  for  over  a  decade. 

In  1850  he  was  appointed  to  the  Silliman  Professorship  of 
Geolog}^  at  Yale,  an  appointment  which  seemed  particularly  appro- 
priate in  view  of  his  own  eminence,  and  of  the  fact  that,  having 
married  a  daughter  of  Professor  Silliman,  he  was  in  the  closest  touch 
with  the  man  who  had  laid  the  foundations  of  the  University's 
scientific  reputation.  That  he  fully  appreciated  his  inheritance  is 
shown  by  these  words  of  his  inaugural  address : 

2  Gilman,  Life  of  James  Dwight  Dana,  p.  19. 

3  An  interesting  account  of  Yale  life  when  Dana  was  a  student  may  be  found  in  G.  W. 
Nichols,  Letters  from  Waldegrove  Cottage. 

[32] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— JAMES  DWIGHT  DANA 

I  feel  that  it  is  an  honored  place,  honored  by  the  labors  of  one  who  has  been 
the  guardian  of  American  Science  from  its  childhood;  who  here  first  opened  to  the 
country  the  wonderful  records  of  Geology;  whose  words  of  eloquence  and  earnest 
truth  were  but  the  overflow  of  a  soul  full  of  noble  sentiments  and  warm  sympathies, 
the  whole  throwing  a  peculiar  charm  over  his  learning,  and  rendering  his  name 
beloved  as  well  as  illustrious.  Just  fifty  years  since.  Professor  Silliman  took  his 
station  at  the  head  of  chemical  and  geological  science  in  this  college.  Geology  was 
then  hardly  known  by  name  in  the  land,  out  of  these  walls.* 

The  closing  sentences  are  of  special  interest  today  when  the  depart- 
ment of  Geology,  using  the  term  broadly,  is  thought  by  many  to  be 
the  strongest  in  the  country. 

From  the  middle  j^ear  of  the  nineteenth  century  to  his  death, 
Dana  was  intimately  associated  with  his  Alma  Mater.  He  was  an 
inspiring  teacher,  and  a  man  of  large  influence  in  Faculty  counsels. 
Although  his  own  chair  was  in  the  College,  he  interested  himself 
heartity  in  the  establishment  of  the  Sheffield  Scientific  School,  being 
one  of  the  few  men  of  his  generation  who  reallj^  took  a  university 
point  of  view.  An  evidence  of  this  is  the  manuscript,  in  the  author's 
possession,  of  an  article  written  by  him  for  the  Courant.  In  it  he 
lays  down  this  sound  doctrine  regarding  the  presidency,  which  was 
all  too  rare  in  academic  circles  in  his  day : 

The  next  President  [of  the  University]  should  be  ....  in  generous  sympathy 
with  all  its  various  departments,  always  ready  to  use  his  influence  and  exert  his 
efforts  for  the  equal  furtherance  of  all  and  for  their  harmonious  progress ;  who  will 
welcome  funds  for  one  department  as  gladly  as  for  another,  and  make  the  whole  tell 
upon  the  general  good  of  the  University. 

The  regard  in  which  Professor  Dana  was  held  by  his  students  is  well 

shown  by  the  following  letter  addressed  to  him  by  the  Class  of  1856: 

In  view  of  your  course  of  Lectures  on  Geology,  now  about  to  close,  the  Senior 
class  desire  to  assure  you  of  the  satisfaction  and  pleasure  afforded  them  in  listening 
to  a  course  so  highly  interesting  and  eminently  instructive,  and  to  tender  you  their 
sincere  acknowledgements  of  the  same.  It  affords  us,  sir,  no  little  gratification  that 
we  have  been  the  first  class  privileged  to  enjoy  your  teachings,  and  be  assured  we 
shall  ever  cherish  the  most  grateful  appreciation  of  your  efforts  as  an  instructor 
and  kindness  as  a  friend.  In  parting  we  tender  you,  sir,  the  thanks  and  most 
cordial  good  wishes  of  the  class  of  '56. '^ 

4  Gilman,  Life  of  James  Dwight  Dana,  p.  160. 

5  Class  of  1856,  Record  of  Forty  Years,  p.  14. 

[33] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

It  was  as  a  research  scholar  in  science,  as  an  interpreter  of  its 
results  in  terms  of  broad  generalizations,  and  as  a  writer  of  standard 
text  books,  that  his  fame  was  mainly  gained.  Here  is  an  authoritative 
estimate  of  his  position  in  an  address,  delivered  shortly  after  his  death, 
by  Professor  Joseph  Le  Conte: 

There  are  few,  very  few,  men  (and  becoming  fewer  every  year)  whose  thoughts 
ranged  so  widely  and  who  accomplished  distinguished  results  in  so  many  directions 
as  did  Dana.  He  became  the  highest  living  authority  in  mineralogy,  in  several 
departments  of  zoology, — as  for  example,  Crustacea  and  zoophytes, — and,  more 
than  all,  in  geology.  Of  some  two  hundred  and  odd  scientific  papers  contributed 
by  him,  more  than  one-half  were  on  geology.  Not  only  in  the  three  sciences  men- 
tioned above  was  he  in  the  foremost  rank,  but  in  other  sciences  also — as,  for 
example,  physics,  chemistry,  and  even  mathematics — his  knowledge  was  wide  and 
exact.  As  he  grew  older,  however,  his  chief  interest  and  highest  activity  gravitated 
more  and  more  toward  geology. ** 

Another  authority  has  borne  witness  to  the  philosophical  character 
of  Dana's  work.  He  was  great,  not  merely  because  of  his  exhaustive 
studies  in  particular  fields  of  exact  research,  but  because  he  had  the 
much  rarer  power  of  coordinating  the  results  of  investigation,  and  of 
deducing  general  principles  of  far-reaching  significance.  Professor 
Henry  Shaler  Williams  has  well  stated  this  contribution: 

Before  Dana,  geology  was  doubtless  in  some  sense  a  history — that  is,  a  chronicle 
of  interesting  events ;  but  with  Dana  it  became  much  more,  it  became  a  philosophic 
history,  a  life  history,  a  history  of  the  evolution  of  the  earth,  and  of  the  organic 
kingdom  in  connection  with  one  another.  For  the  first  time  there  was  recognized 
a  time-cosmos  governed  by  law  as  the  true  field  of  geology,  as  the  space-cosmos 
governed  by  law  is  the  field  of  astronomy.  Before  Dana,  geology  was  the  study 
of  a  succession  of  formations ;  with  Dana  it  was  the  study  of  a  succession  of  eras, 
periods,  epochs,  during  which  geographic  forms  and  organic  forms  were  both 
developing  toward  a  definite  goal.  The  underlying  idea  of  his  geological  work,  I 
repeat,  was  the  evolution  of  the  earth  as  a  whole. ^ 

The  American  Journal  of  Science  was  the  medium  for  much  of 
his  scientific  activity.  He  received  the  editorial  torch  from  the 
honored  hands  of  Silliman,  and  handed  it  over  undimmed  to  his  son, 
Professor  Edward  S.  Dana  (B.A.  1870).     This  position  helped  to 

fl  Gilman,  Life  of  James  Dwight  Dana,  p.  248. 

7  Journal  of  Geology,  September,  1895,  quoted  from  Gilman,  Life  of  Dana,  p.  253. 

[34] 


James  Dwight  Dana 


Class  of    1838 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

It  was  as  a  research  scholar  iii  science,  as  an  mterprctcr  ot  its 
results  in  terms  of  broad  generalizations,  and  as  a  writer  of  standard 
te^  ^  '  • " >5-  -  ' liat  his  fame  was  mainly  gained.  Here  is  an  authoritative 
OS  IS  j>osition  in  an  address,  delivered  shortly  after  his  death, 

by  Professor  Joseph  Le  Conte: 

There  are  few,  very  few,  men  (and  becoming  fewer  every  year)  whose  thoughts 
ranged  so  widely  and  who  accomplished  distinguished  results  in  so  many  directions 
as  did  Dana.  He  became  the  highest  living  authority  in  mineralogy,  in  several 
departments  of  zoology, — as  for  example,  Crustacea  and  zoophytes, — and,  more 
than  all,  in  geology.  Of  some  two  hundred  and  odd  scientific  papers  contributed 
by  him,  more  than  one-half  were  on  geology.  Not  only  in  the  three  sciences  men- 
tioned above  was  he  in  the  foremost  rank,  but  in  other  sciences  also — as,  for 
example,  physics,  chemistry,  and  even  mathematics — his  knowledge  was  wide  and 
exact.  As  he  grew  older,  however,  his  chief  interest  and  highest  activity  gravitated 
more  and  more  toward  geology." 

Another  authority  has  borne  witness  to  the  philosophical  character 
of  Dana's  work.  He  was  great,  not  merely  because  of  his  exhaustive 
studies  in  particular  fields  of  exact  research,  but  because  he  had  the 
much  rarer  power  of  coordinating  the  results  of  investigation,  and  of 
deducing  general  principles  of  far-reaching  significance.  Professor 
Henry  Shaler  Williams  has  well  stated  this  contribution: 

Before  Dana,  geology  was  doubtless  in  some  sense  a  history — that  is,  a  chronicle 
of  interesting  events;  but  with  Dana  it  became  much  more,  it  became  a  philosophic 
history,  a  life  history,  a  history  of  the  evolution  of  the  earth,  and  of  the  organic 
kingdom  in  connection  with  one  another.  For  the  first  time  there  was  recognized 
a  time-cosmos  governed  by  law  as  the  true  field  of  geology,  as  the  space-cosmos 
governed  by  law  is  the  field  of  astronomy.  Before  Dana,  geology  was  the  study 
of  a  succession  of  formations ;  with  Dana  it  was  the  study  of  a  succession  of  eras, 
periods,  epochs,  during  which  geographic  forms  and  organic  forms  were  both 
developing  toward  a  definite  goal.  The  underlying  idea  of  his  geological  work,  I 
repeat,  was  the  evolution  of  the  earth  as  a  whole.^ 

The  American  Journal  of  Science  was  the  medium  for  much  of 
his  scientific  activity.  He  received  the  editorial  torch  from  the 
honored  hands  of  Silliman,  and  handed  it  over  undimmed  to  his  son, 
Professor  Edward  S.  Dana  fB.xV.  I870).     This  position  helped  to 

AAaQ.    THOI7/Q    gaMAL 

«  Gihnan,  Life  of  James  Dxcight  Dava,  p.  248. 

''Journal  of  Geology,  September,  IS^^o^l  gy-jpjQGilman,  Life  of  Dana,  p.  253. 

[34] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— JAMES  DWIGHT  DANA 

extend  his  reputation,  which  became  international.  It  is  interesting 
to  note  that  he  is  so  often  mentioned  in  the  congratulatory  addresses 
presented  to  the  University  at  the  time  of  the  Bicentennial  Celebra- 
tion. Among  his  foreign  correspondents  were  Berzelius  and  Darwin, 
while  his  honors  included  membership  in  the  Royal  Academies  of 
Berlin,  Vienna,  and  St.  Petersburg,  Fellowship  in  the  Royal  Society 
of  London  (whose  Copley  medal  he  received),  the  Doctorate  of 
Philosophy  from  Munich,  and  the  Doctorate  of  Laws  from  Edin- 
burgh. In  his  own  country  he  was  a  member  of  the  National  Academy 
of  Sciences,  a  Doctor  of  Laws  of  Harvard  University  and  of 
Amherst  College,  and  one  of  the  early  Presidents  of  the  American 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science.  Among  his  books  the 
System  of  Mineralogy ,  Text  Book  of  Geology,  and  Manuals  of 
Geology  and  of  Mineralogy,  continue  to  hold  a  high  place.  The 
first  named  was  a  particularly  remarkable  production,  since  the  earliest 
edition  appeared  when  its  author  was  only  twenty-four. 

Professor  Dana  was  a  man  of  rare  scientific  distinction,  noble 
Christian  character  and  faith,  and  deep  loyalty  to  the  University. 
His  portrait  is  in  the  Library,  and  members  of  the  family  have 
established  the  Dana  Memorial  Fellowship  in  Geology  in  his  honor. 
The  author  well  remembers  the  sense  of  the  dignity  of  the  scholar's 
career,  and  the  inspiration  to  high  thinking,  that  came  to  him  as  an 
undergraduate  from  merely  passing  Dana  on  the  street,  and  seeing 
the  rugged  strength  and  beauty  of  his  face.  Daniel  C.  Gilman's 
The  Life  of  James  Dwight  Dana  is  a  worthy  biography. 


New  Haven,  May  30  1874. 
My  dear  Prof.  Rood, 

Your  manuscript  is  here  and  shall  go  into  our  August  no. — that  for  July 
being  full  &  overflowing.     I  thank  you  much  for  it. — 

I  am  slowly  regaining  health  &  strength,  and  long  for  a  chance  to  geologize 
among  New  England  rocks. 

Yours  very  truly 

James  D.  Dana. 

[  35  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

The  printed  letter-head  is  interesting  as  containing  a  succinct 
history  of  the  first  half  century  of  the  Journal  over  the  signature  of 
the  two  men  who  made  it  famous.    It  reads  as  follows : 

American  Journal  of  Science  and  Arts 

(Founded  by  Professor  Silliman  in   1818)   ended  its   1st  Series  of  50  volumes,  as 
a  quarterly,  in  1845,  and  its  2d  Series  of  50  volumes,  as  a  two-monthly,  in  1870. 

A  Third  Series  in  monthly  numbers  commenced  January  1871.  Devoted 
to  Chemistry,  Physics,  Geology,  Mineralogy,  Natural  History,  Astronomy, 
Meteorology,  etc.     Two  volumes,  of  over  450  pages  each  published  annually. 

Editors  and  Proprietors:  Professors  Dana  and  Silliman.  Associate  Editors.. 
Professors  Gray  and  Gibbs  of  Cambridge;  Newton,  Johnson,  Brush  and  Verrill 
of  Yale;  and  Mayer,  of  Stevens  Institute,  Hoboken. 

Subscription  price  $6.00  a  year,  or  50  cents  a  number.  A  few  complete  sets  on 
sale  of  the  first  and  second  series. 

Address  Dana  &  Silliman,  New  Haven,  Ct. 

There  is  no  institution  connected  with  Yale  University  in  which 
its  graduates  can  properly  take  more  pride.  For  nearly  a  century 
it  has  been  a  standard  review,  recording  the  progress  of  science,  and 
adding  materially  to  that  progress  by  its  own  contributions.  The 
extent  of  its  influence,  especially  in  the  period  when  there  was  no 
rival  in  its  broad  field,  has  been  unparalleled.  An  indirect  service 
is  the  important  group  of  scientific  publications  from  all  over  the 
world,  which  come  regularly  to  the  Library  as  a  result  of  its  exchanges. 

The  last  paragraph  of  the  letter  is  characteristic  of  the  main 
passion  of  Dana's  life — he  longs  "to  geologize  among  New  England 
rocks."  Professor  Ogden  Rood,  of  Columbia  College,  to  whom  the 
letter  was  addressed,  was  a  graduate  of  Princeton,  but  he  pursued 
postgraduate  studies  at  Yale,  under  Dana  and  others,  in  the  early 
davs  of  the  Scientific  School. 


[36] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— JOSIAH  DWIGHT  WHITNEY 

JosiAH  DwiGHT  Whitney 
Class  of  1839 

Born,  November  23,  1819;  Died,  August  18,  1896 

Geologist 

The  four  sons  of  Rev.  David  Dudley  Field  (B.A.  1802)  have 
long  been  considered  the  most  remarkable  family  group  of  distin- 
guished men  in  the  same  generation  in  American  history.  But  the 
Whitneys,  sons  of  a  Northampton  banker,  are  good  candidates  for 
second  place.  Josiah  (B.A.  1839)  was  an  eminent  geologist,  James 
(B.A.  1856)  and  Henry  (B.A.  1864)  were  well  known  as  librarians, 
and  William  D wight,  who  took  his  Bachelor's  degree  from  Williams, 
but  was  a  graduate  student  at  Yale,  and  a  Professor  at  the  University 
for  forty  years,  is  recognized  as  America's  leading  philologist  and 
Sanskrit  scholar.^  The  fame  of  the  last  named  has  somewhat  over- 
shadowed that  of  his  older  brother,  but  Josiah  Dwight  Whitney 
deserves  recognition  as  one  of  the  few  men  whose  work  and  methods 
have  laid  the  foundations  of  the  science  of  geology,  and  especially  of 
geological  surveying,  in  America. 

He  prepared  for  college  at  Andover,  anticipated  the  studies  of 
Freshman  year,  and  entered  Yale  as  a  Sophomore  in  the  autumn 
of  1836.  A  letter  written  to  his  sister,  a  few  months  later,  shows  the 
conditions  under  which  his  college  course  was  begun. 

....  Well,  I  suppose  that  you  will  like  to  hear  how  matters  and  things  go  on 
in  College.  Just  imagine  me  with  my  feet  on  the  top  of  an  Olmsted'  stove,  my 
room-mate  on  one  side  of  me  and  a  table  between  us  covered  with  books  and  papers 
to  the  height  of  3  or  4  feet,  engaged  in  writing  a  composition  which  has  got  to  be 
read  before  the  division  the  next  day.  No  enviable  task.  Or  imagine  that  I  have 
just  completed  the  formidable  array  of  sums  for  the  next  recitation,  and  am  ready 
to  sit  down  and  write  you  as  long  a  letter  as  I  can.  Everything  goes  on  in  College 
in  the  same  regular  routine;  recitation  succeeds  recitation.     We  go  to  breakfast, 

1  Compare  the  case  of  the   four  Livingston   brothers   referred  to   in   the   biography  of 
William  Livingston. 

2  Invented  by  Professor  Denison  Olmsted  (q.v.). 

[  37  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

dinner,  and  supper  just  like  so  many  automatons.  We  now  rise  at  6^2  o'clock,  and 
have  evening  prayers  at  the  same  hour  in  the  afternoon.  Perhaps  you  would  like 
to  know  how  we  spend  our  time  that  we  have  which  we  do  not  devote  to  study. 
In  the  first  place,  almost  every  student  belongs  to  two  or  three  literary  societies, 
for  which  he  has  to  furnish  essays,  debates,  orations,  etc.  If  a  person  attends  to 
these  as  he  ought  to,  they  require  a  great  deal  of  time.  It  is  considered  an  honor 
to  be  elected  into  the  societies  in  the  two  upper  classes.  This  is  one  way  in  which 
time  is  consumed.  There  is  anotlier  thing  which  is  a  sad  enemy  to  time,  namely 
"loafering,"  i.  e.  visiting  one  another's  rooms  without  any  ostensible  purpose,  to  pass 
away  time.  Every  one  who  rooms  in  College  is  liable  to  this,  and  this  is  the  greatest 
objection  to  rooming  in  College. 

Another  thing  which  requires  time  and  which  every  one  must  attend  to  if  he 
hopes  to  have  any  sort  of  health,  is  exercise.  For  that  purpose  we  walk  about  the 
streets  and  alleys  of  New  Haven,  play  in  the  Gymnasium,  etc.  One  of  the  great 
bores  in  college  is  declamation  in  the  chapel,  which  we  are  obliged  to  perform  twice 
a  term  before  the  faculty  and  all  the  students.  I  have  made  a  good  many  pleasant 
acquaintances  this  term,  not  only  in  our  class  but  in  other  classes.  College  is  a 
world  in  miniature;  there  are  a  great  many  fine  fellows  who  would  appear  to 
advantage  anywhere,  and  a  great  many  who  are  not  fit  for  the  literary  pursuits 

of   a   college But   although   engrossed  with   the   busy   cares   and   pleasures 

attendant  on  my  residence  here,  do  not  think,  my  dear  sister,  that  my  feelings 
seldom  revert  to  the  scenes  in  which  you  are  a  partaker.     Far  from  it, — "Home, 

sweet  home"  is  ever  present  to  my  mind,  to  comfort  and  to  cheer I  should 

suppose  that  all  Northampton  had  been  converted  to  Abolitionism  as  they  have  had 
so  many  lectures  there.  We  don't  hear  so  much  about  the  subject  lately,  as  we 
used  to.     Mr,  Webster  is   expected  to  deliver  an   address   here  tomorrow,   as   he 

passes  through  on  his  way  home It  is  about  the  time  now  for  playing  ball, 

and  the  whole  green  is  covered  with  students  engaged  in  that  fine  game:  for  my 
part,  I  could  never  make  a  ball  player.  I  can't  see  where  the  ball  is  coming  soon 
enough  to  put  the  ball-club  in  its  way.' 

This  letter  breathes  much  of  the  spirit  of  modern  Campus  life,  but 
the  days  when  New  Haven  was  a  small  town,  and  the  students  could 
play  ball  behind  Trinity  Church,  have  passed.  College  football  on 
the  Green  has  been  made  familiar  to  Yale  men  by  Doolittle's  engrav- 
ing of  1807,  but  this  is  the  earliest  reference  to  Yale  baseball  which 
the  author  has  noticed.  Probably  it  was  merely  "one-old-cat"  or 
"two-old-cat,"  for  the  modern  game  is  thought  to  have  been  invented 
two  years  later. 

s  Life  and  Letters  of  Josiah  Dicight  Whitney,  pp.  18-20.  Modern  baseball  was  not  started 
at  Yale  until  1859.  See  Yale  Literary  Magazine,  Vol.  2(5,  p.  127.  The  first  intercollegiate 
baseball  game  was  played  between  Amherst  and  Williams,  July  1,  1859. 

[38] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— JOSIAH  DWIGHT  WHITNEY 

When  Whitney  was  a  Junior  we  get  another  interesting  glimpse 
of  undergraduate  hf e  from  a  letter  home : 

The  next  day  we  returned  and  once  more  took  up  our  stations  in  the  cider- 
mill  track  of  College  Life.  You  cannot  imagine  a  pleasanter  room  than  that  which, 
as  No.  1,  fell  to  my  share;  a  corner  room  with  two  bedrooms,  each  in  itself  a  pleasant 
room,  delightfully  shaded  and  looking  out  upon  the  Green,  and  comfortably  fur- 
nished and  ornamented  with  paintings  by  a  "distinguished  master."  Here  I,  solus, 
lounge  or  paint  or  fiddle  or  study, — the  latter  not  very  often  however.  We  have 
enough  to  do;  Optics,  Astronomy,  History,  German,  with  lectures  on  clams  and 
squids  and  lobsters  and  shellology  and  also  on  Botany  pretty  well  occupy  our  time. 

I  have  also  commenced  Painting  in  Oil,  for  my  own  amusement If  the  day 

is  pleasant,  I  very  often  go  out  of  the  city  3  or  4  miles,  after  breakfast,  and  spend 
the  forenoon  rambling  about  for  flowers  and  sketches.  Besides  painting,  which  I 
devote  as  much  time  to  as  I  can  possibly  spare,  I  am  very  enthusiastic  in  learning 
German.  I  and  a  classmate,  who  is  from  Pennsylvania,  where  they  talk  German 
a  good  deal,  hardly  speak  to  each  other  in  English.  I  am  reading  Goethe's 
Autobiography.  I  have  the  honor  to  be  elected  member  of  the$BKand  Chi  Delta 
Phi  societies.* 

Like  another  eminent  Y^ale  scientist,  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse  (q.v.), 
painting  seems  to  have  been  one  of  Whitney's  major  undergraduate 
interests.  He  was  also  fond  of  music  and  was  an  officer  of  the 
Beethoven  Society.  His  college  years  were  not  devoted  to  speciali- 
zation. Chemistry  was  the  study  in  which  he  was  most  interested, 
and  Silliman's  influence  upon  him  was  noticeable.  He  took  good 
rank  as  a  scholar,  his  Commencement  part  being  a  Colloquy  "on 
the  March  of  Intellect."  He  cared  little  for  mathematics  and 
physics,  and  detested  pliilosophy.  He  found  geology,  and  the  reading 
of  English  literature,  the  most  delightful  avocations.  Some  of  these 
intellectual  likes  and  dislikes  come  out  in  a  Senior  year  letter : 

Here  I  am,  the  same  as  ever,  studying  Philosophy  and  Political  Economy  a 
little,  painting  a  little,  reading  a  little,  fencing  a  little,  doing  nothing  a  good  deal. 
I  am  dipping  a  little  into  the  well  of  English  literature  of  olden  time  together  with 
my  friend  of  the  musical  name.  We  are  reading  together  Ben  Johnson's  plays 
occasionally,  or  Shakespeare,  Jeremy  Taylor,  Chaucer,  Spenser,  or  perhaps  Dryden. 
Thus  we  spend  many  an  evening  quite  comfortably,  leaving  Mathematics  and  all 
the  ologies  to  be  scattered  to  the  winds.  I  think  it  a  great  privilege  to  have  good 
libraries  to  resort  to.^ 

4  Life  and  Letters  of  Josiah  Dwight  Whitney,  pp.  22,  23. 
6  Ibid.,  pp.  23,  24. 

[  39  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Whitney's  later  career  was  mainly  connected  with  Harvard, 
where  he  held  his  professorship,  but  few  men  have  entered  more 
heartily  into  Yale  life  in  its  various  aspects  of  give  and  take  than  he 
did  as  an  undergraduate.  Here  is  his  own  account  of  the  last  days, 
which  will  recall  similar  memories  to  every  alumnus: 

Commencement,  the  era  in  a  man's  life,  went  off  well,  better  than  anybody 
expected:  in  fact  it  was  hinted  that  a  better  commencement  had  not  been  attended 
at  New  Haven,  and  that  a  finer  class  never  left  the  walls  of  Old  Yale.  However, 
you  know  that  we  never  praise  ourselves,  so  that  you  need  not  believe  any  more 
than  you  please.  As  I  had  to  appear  twice,  once  in  a  Colloquy  besides  my  oration, 
and  as  I  had  to  superintend  the  whole  concern  as  chairman  of  the  Committee,  and 
to  play  the  fiddle  into  the  bargain,  you  may  imagine  that  I  was  somewhat  busy, 
and  that  no  one  was  more  rejoiced  to  feel  that  it  was  all  over  and  successfully  over, 
than  myself,  as  we  assembled  together  for  the  last  time,  as  a  class,  to  partake  of 
a  generous  supper,  at  which  were  not  wanting  any  of  the  requisites  for  enjoyment, 
and  when  the  feeling  of  sadness  that  we  were  to  sever  those  ties  that  had  held  us 
together  for  four  years,  was  forced  to  yield  to  the  general  joy.^ 

The  Commencement  address  referred  to  was  a  dissertation  "on  the 
inducements  to  the  cultivation  of  the  fine  arts  in  this  country." 

Professor  Whitney's  career  naturally  divides  itself  into  two 
periods — the  twenty-five  years  after  leaving  college,  mainly  devoted 
to  the  work  of  technical  preparation,  and  of  geological  surveying; 
and  that  from  1865  until  his  death,  when  he  was  engaged  in  training 
geologists  at  Harvard  University.  Dr.  Hare's  Chemical  Laboratory 
in  Philadelphia,  the  New  Hampshire  Survey,  and  five  years  of  travel 
and  study  in  Europe,  gave  him  the  necessary  preliminary  training. 
On  his  return  to  America,  in  1847,  he  was  identified  with  making  and 
reporting  various  surveys,  including  the  geological  exploration  of 
the  Lake  Superior  region,  the  geological  survey  of  Iowa,  and 
the  survey  of  Wisconsin,  while  his  extensive  travels  and  studies 
enabled  him  to  publish  The  Metallic  Wealth  of  the  United  States 
described  and  compared  with  that  of  other  Countries.  His  career 
reached  its  climax  in  the  years  beginning  with  1860,  when  he  served 
as  the  first  State  Geologist  of  California;  his  broad  duties,  according 
to  the  legislative  act  creating  the  position,  being  "with  the  aid  of  such 

6 /bid.,  p.  24. 

[40] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— JOSIAH  DWIGHT  WHITNEY 

assistants  as  he  may  appoint,  to  make  an  accurate  and  complete 
geological  survey  of  the  state,  and  to  furnish  in  his  report  of  the 
same  proper  maps  and  diagrams  thereof,  with  a  full  and  scientific 
description  of  its  rocks,  fossils,  soils,  and  minerals,  and  of  its  botanical 
and  zoological  productions,  together  with  specimens  of  the  same, 
which  specimens  shall  be  properly  labeled  and  arranged,  and 
deposited  in  such  place  as  shall  be  hereafter  provided  for  that  purpose 
by  the  legislature."^  What  the  scientific  world  thought  of  Whitney's 
fitness  for  this  task  is  shown  bj^  Agassiz's  letter  to  the  Governor: 
"Considering  the  particular  qualifications  for  a  successful  survey  of 
your  State,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  there  is  only  one  man 

in  the  United  States  fullj^  qualified  for  it,  Mr.  J.  D.  Whitney "^ 

The  six  volumes  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  California,  published 
from  1864  to  1870,  amply  justified  Agassiz's  endorsement.  It  is 
recognized  as  the  most  important  state  survey  made  in  America, 
because  of  the  territory  covered,  the  methods  employed,  the  results 
achieved,  and  the  invaluable  training  it  gave  to  Clarence  King  (q.v.), 
and  to  others  who  were  later  to  make  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey  famous.  It  was  the  California  organization  "which  first 
worked  out  the  problem  of  handling  great  stretches  of  wild  country,'" 
through  triangulation,  and  it  was  the  accomplishment  of  this  great 
work  that  led  Yale,  in  1870,  to  confer  on  Whitney  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Laws.  When  he  heard  of  the  honor,  from  his 
former  associate.  Professor  William  H.  Brewer  (q.v.),  he  wrote 
characteristically  to  his  brother  from  San  Francisco: 

My  dear  W.  D.  W., — Yours  of  the  10th  of  July  was  found  on  my  table  last 
night,  as  I  arrived,  dusty  and  dirty,  from  the  mountains.  Also,  among  heaps  of 
others,  one  from  Brewer,  informing  me  that  my  Alma  Mater  had  honored  me  to 
a  degree  that  I  certainly  never  expected.  Had  I  appeared  before  the  Corporation 
in  my  yesterday's  rig,  with  begrimed  linen  duster,  skinny  and  shiny  red  nose, 
awfully  battered  hat,  greasy  pants  stuck  in  my  boots,  and  so  on,  what  would  they 
have  thought  of  such  an  object  as  a  recipient  of  their  honors!^" 

In  1865  he  was  elected  Professor  of  Geology  at  Harvard,  with 
general  responsibility  for  administering  the  departments  of  geology 

7  Ibid.,  pp.  184,  185.       8  Ibid.,  p.  187.       9  Ibid.,  p.  305.       lo  Ibid.,  p.  272. 

[  41  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

and  of  mining.  To  this  work  he  devoted  with  success  thirty  years 
of  his  hfe,  although  the  first  portion  was  largely  occupied  with  com- 
pleting the  Cahfornia  survey — his  magnum  opus,  for  which  his  broad 
knowledge,  large  executive  ability,  indefatigable  industry,  and  high 
scientific  ideals,  had  peculiarly  fitted  him. 

His  honors  included  membership  in  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  and  the  naming  after  him  of  Mount  Whitney,  the  highest 
mountain  in  the  United  States."  He  greatly  advanced  American 
geology  by  his  vision,  his  mastery  of  system,  and  his  patient  investi- 
gations. He  was  distinguished  in  the  field  of  general  geology  and 
of  topograph}^,  rather  than  in  that  of  scientific  theory. 

In  the  interesting  Life  and  Letters  of  Josiah  Dwight  Whitney, 
by  Edwin  Tenney  Brewster,  his  career  is  thus  summarized: 

He  filled  a  long  lifetime  with  sound  professional  work:  his  monument  is  the 
unrivaled  collection  of  books  which  he  gave  Harvard  University,  his  reports  on  the 
natural  resources  of  six  states,  a  topographical  method  which  will  in  time  map 
the  whole  of  North  America,  and  two  generations  of  professional  geologists  and 
topographers  whom  he  trained.^^ 


Cambridge,  Mass 
Dec  9 1872 
My  dear  Sir : 

Yours  of  Dec  6  is  at  hand.  It  is  not  for  me  to  dictate  what  the  Coast 
Survey  should  publish.  All  I  wanted  was,  to  explain  why  I  was  unable  to  keep 
my  promise  in  regard  to  the  improvement  of  the  Chart.  Ravenstein  had  no 
data  from  me :  his  map  is  better  chiefly  because  his  method  was  better.  I  shall 
go  ahead  &  make  my  own  map :  should  as  soon  think  of  throwing  my  materials 
into  the  Sea  as  of  giving  them  to  Colton. 

Yours  Very  Truly 

J.  D.  Whitney 

This  short  letter  is  in  many  ways  characteristic.  It  has  to  do 
with  Whitney's  main  "forte" — geological  surveying.  The  spirit  of 
the  letter  shows  that  its  author  was  a  man  of  decided  views  as  to  men 
and  affairs. 

11  Mount   Mitchell,   the   highest   peak   of   the    Appalachians,   was    similarly   named    after 
another  Yale  scientist,  Elisha  Mitchell  (B.A.  1813). 

12  Life  and  Letters  of  Josiah  Dwight  Whitney,  p.  383. 

[42] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— WILLIAM  CHAUVENET 

William  Chauvenet 
Class  of  1840 

Born,  May  24,  1820;  Died,  December  13,  1870 
Mathematician 

William  Chauvenet  has  earned  his  position  in  this  list  of  eminent 
Yalensians  by  his  standard  mathematical  text  books,  and  because  of 
the  leading  part  which  he  played  in  the  founding  and  developing  of 
the  Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis.  He  was  born  in  Milford, 
Pennsylvania,  near  the  Yale  School  of  Forestry's  summer  home,  but 
his  youth  was  passed  in  Philadelphia,  where  his  father,  a  man  of 
education,  was  a  grocer.  It  took  much  urging  on  the  part  of  the  son's 
teacher,  who  was  impressed  by  the  boy's  mathematical  talent,  to 
persuade  the  father  to  allow  him  to  be  fitted  for  college,  as  the  elder 
Chauvenet  was  anxious  to  have  him  carry  on  the  family  business.  He 
accomplished  in  one  year  all  of  his  preparation  in  Latin  and  Greek, 
and  at  the  close  of  Freshman  year  took  a  prize  for  Latin  composition.^ 
He  was  a  well-rounded  and  able  scholar,  and  was  thankful  when  he 
became  a  distinguished  mathematician  for  the  sj^mmetrical  develop- 
ment which  the  old-time  required  college  curriculum  afforded.  Yet  it 
should  not  be  forgotten  that  he  gave  promise  as  an  undergraduate  of 
brilliant  power  in  mathematics.  He  led  his  class  from  the  first  in  this 
subject,  and  in  Senior  year  astonished  his  instructor  by  originating 
new  methods  for  the  solution  of  difficult  problems.  The  early  part 
of  his  text  book  on  trigonometry,  for  which  there  is  still  a 
regular  demand,  was  prepared  before  his  graduation.  The  subjects 
of  his  orations  at  the  Junior  Exhibition  and  at  Commencement  are 
interesting.  The  first  was  "on  the  study  of  nature,"  the  second  "on 
the  connection  between  Science  and  Poetry."  He  contributed  several 
articles    to   the    "Lit."      Their    subjects    were    "Ancient    Science," 

i  National  Academy  of  Sciences.    Biographical  Memoirs.     Vol.  I,  p.  231. 

[43] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

"Music,"  "Manly  Sensibility,"  "Philosophical  Anthology,"  and 
"Science  and  Religion."  He  was  long  remembered  by  undergraduate 
contemporaries  for  his  musical  ability.  This  led  to  his  becoming 
prominent  in  the  Beethoven  Society — the  object  of  which,  according 
to  its  constitution,  was  "the  cultivation  of  Sacred  Music  in  this  semi- 
nary." That  this  exclusively  pious  purpose  was  not  long  maintained 
is  shown  by  an  entry  in  the  minutes  in  the  summer  term  of  Chauvenet's 
Sophomore  year:  "The  Secretary  is  happy  to  remark  at  this  time 
that  the  Sabbath  evening  anthems  have  produced  the  desired  effect. 
About  fifty  Young  Ladies  were  present  last  Sabbath  evening  and 
appeared  uncommonly  devotional!! — ""  The  exclamation  marks  tell 
the  story.  This  organization,  when  Chauvenet  was  its  pianist,  gained 
much  contemporary  note  by  supplying  the  music  one  Commencement, 
in  place  of  a  well-known  New  York  orchestra.^  He  was  so  good  a 
musician  that  he  at  one  time  hesitated  as  to  whether  to  make  mathe- 
matics or  music  his  major  work  in  life. 

Professor  Chauvenet  always  remembered  his  University  days 
with  pleasure  and  gratitude.  He  cherished  copies  of  the  poems  of 
Byron  and  of  Wordsworth,  with  the  signatures  of  President  Day, 
which  had  been  presented  to  him  as  prizes  in  English  composition  and 
in  Latin.  For  twenty  years  after  graduation  he  kept  a  commonplace 
book  in  which  the  events  in  the  lives  of  his  college  friends  were  care- 
fully recorded.* 

In  1841  he  accepted  the  position  of  Instructor  in  Mathematics  at 
the  United  States  Naval  Asjdum  in  Philadelphia.  Here,  two  years 
previously,  a  course  of  eight  months'  training  for  midshipmen  had 
been  instituted,  and  here,  under  his  leadership,  the  foundations  of 
modern  naval  education  in  America  were  laid.  When  he  took  charge 
of  the  work  the  apparatus  of  the  institution  consisted  "of  one  worn 
out  circle  of  reflection,  and  a  small  blackboard,  not  even  fastened  to 
the  wall  but  rested  on  the  floor  of  the  dark  basement  room  in  which 

2  MS.  Records  of  the  Beethoven  Society,  for  August  3,  1838. 

3  Kingsley,  YaU  College,  Vol.  II,  p.  484. 

*  MS.  letter  from  W.  M.  Chauvenet,  November  6,  1912. 

[  44] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— WILLIAM  CHAUVENET 

informal  and  irregular  recitations  were  held."^  Chauvenet's  energy 
and  tactful  dealings  with  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  and  with  officers 
soon  improved  conditions,  and  brought  about  a  regular  and  symmetri- 
cal course  of  study.  He  was  constantly  urging  far-sighted  plans  for 
further  development.  In  1845  the  institution  was  transferred  to 
Annapolis,  and  formally  organized  with  Chauvenet  as  one  of  the 
Board  of  Directors,  Professor  of  Astronomy  and  Mathematics,  and 
Director  of  the  Observatory.  "For  the  next  14  years  he  was  the  chief 
agent  in  building  up  the  Academy."*'  He  was  "always  the  most 
prominent  of  the  academic  staff,"'  and  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say 
that  to  him,  more  than  to  any  single  individual,  except  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy,  George  Bancroft,  was  due  the  broad  foundation  of  a 
sound  naval  education  of  officers,  which  was  to  prove  so  invaluable  to 
the  Union  cause  during  the  following  decade.  Chauvenet's  scientific 
writings,  and  success  as  a  teacher  at  Annapolis,  had  attracted  broad 
attention.  Yale  twice  offered  him  professorships — first  in  Mathe- 
matics, and  later  in  Astronomy  and  Natural  Philosophy,  but  he  con- 
tinued at  the  Naval  Academy  until  1859,  when  he  accepted  the  chair 
of  Astronomy  and  Mathematics  in  Washington  Universit}^  St.  Louis. 
The  duties  of  the  chancellorship  were  added  a  few  years  later,  on  the 
death  of  his  Yale  classmate,  Joseph  Gibson  Hoyt.  With  the  honor- 
able performance  of  the  duties  of  these  positions  the  later  years  of  his 
life  are  mainly  identified. 

Professor  Chauvenet  is  best  known  to  the  public  through  his  text 
books,  especially  the  Treatise  on  Plane  and  Spherical  Trigonometry, 
Manual  of  Spherical  and  Practical  Astronomy ,  and  Treatise  of  Ele- 
mentary Geopietry.  These  publications  were  as  far  removed  as  pos- 
sible from  the  ordinary  text  books  that  any  good  college  teacher  can 
prepare  for  the  press,  bj^  request,  at  a  month's  notice.  Thej^  were 
scientific  works  of  the  highest  merit,  combining  the  results  of  original 

5  History  of  the  Origin  of  The  United  States  Naval  Academy,  A  letter  from  Prof.  William 
Chauvenet  to  Mr.  T.  O.  Ford,  p.  4. 

6  Dexter  in  Yale  Obituary  Record  for  1871,  p.  25. 

7  Appleton,  American  Biography,  Vol.  I,  p.  595. 

[45] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

investigations  and  the  best  conclusions  of  European  mathematicians. 
UnHke  most  efforts  in  the  same  field  they  were  marked  by  real  purity 
of  language.  His  biographer  before  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  of  which  Chauvenet  was  Vice-President  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  quotes  with  approval  a  reference  to  one  of  these  books  as  "the 
most  complete  treatise  on  trigonometry  in  the  English  language,"  and 
adds,  "It  is  the  only  text-book  in  any  branch,  I  have  ever  used,  which 
I  never  criticized  or  found  fault  with."^ 

He  did  much  for  mathematical  education  in  America,  but  his 
most  lasting  monument  is  the  systematic,  well-rounded,  and  thorough 
system  of  naval  instruction  at  Annapolis.  Secretary  Bancroft  is 
rightly  regarded  as  the  founder  of  the  Academy,  but  Chauvenet  did 
much  to  direct  his  attention  to  its  necessity  and  feasibility,  prepared 
the  way  for  his  success,  and  did  more  than  any  one  else  to  establish  the 
institution  on  a  firm  and  scientific  basis. 


U.  S.  Naval  Asylum,  Philadelphia, 
November  7,  1843. 
Dear  Sir: 

It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  comply  with  your  request  by  testifying  to 
the  superior  scholarship  of  your  former  pupil,  Mr.  Charles  W.  Quick,  of  this 
city.  Having  had  ample  opportunity  of  becoming  acquainted  with  his  abili- 
ties both  in  Philad^  and  at  Yale  College  (of  which  he  is  a  distinguished  grad- 
uate,) I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  in  my  judgment  he  is  qualified  to 
discharge  the  duties  of  an  instructor  of  the  mathematics  and  the  classics  in  any 
institution  of  the  country.  That  he  will  be  eminent  as  a  scholar  is  not  doubted 
by  any  who  have  seen  him  advancing  continually  against  the  most  formidable 
obstacles  and  winning  laurels  among  the  first  talent  of  the  nation  under  diffi- 
culties that  would  have  overwhelmed  any  one  not  possessed  of  his  extraordinary 
energy  and  industry. 

I  am  with  much  respect 

Your  friend  &c 
William  Chauvenet 

Dr.  Samuel  Jones      )    -„  .     .     ,  ^i  o  ht  i.i.    t     i.-i.  i. 

_,  -    Principal  Class  :  &  Math :  Institute. 

Present  ) 

^National  Academy  of  Sciences.    Biographical  Memoirs.    Vol.  I,  pp.  237,  238. 

[46] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— WILLIAM  CHAUVENET 

Mr.  Quick,  of  whom  Chauvenet  speaks  in  such  high  terms,  was 
graduated  from  Yale  in  1843,  and  died  in  1894.  He  edited  The 
Episcopal  Recorder  and  other  rehgious  publications,  and  was  promi- 
nent in  the  movement  which  led  to  the  establishment  of  the  Reformed 
Episcopal  Church. 

The  letter  is  dated  from  the  "U.  S.  Naval  Asylum,  Philadelphia" 
during  the  winter  of  1843-44,  at  a  time  when  Chauvenet  was  making 
his  most  strenuous  efforts  to  introduce  a  good  system  of  naval  edu- 
cation into  America.  The  natural  difficulties  in  securing  favorable 
action  were  increased  by  the  fact  that  the  secretaryship  of  the  Navy, 
during  the  four  j^ears  of  his  work  at  Philadelphia,  was  held  by  six 
different  men. 


[47] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Hubert  Anson  Newton 
Class  of  1850 

Born,  March  19,  1830;  Died,  August  12,  1896 
Meteorologist  and  Mathematician 

Professor  Newton's  career  was  outwardly  uneventful,  but  it 
meant  much  to  the  cause  of  science  in  America,  especially  in  two  very 
different  fields — the  study  of  meteors,  and  the  recognition  of  the 
metric  system.  In  the  first  he  was  recognized  as  an  international 
authority,  and  it  is  upon  his  contributions  to  it  that  his  fame  rests. 
Of  the  second  he  was  an  earnest  and  successful  advocate. 

He  was  born  in  Sherburne,  New  York,  the  fifth  son  in  a  family 
of  eleven  children.  His  mother  was  a  woman  known  for  her  character, 
judgment,  and  mathematical  powers,  while  the  father,  who  was  a  con- 
tractor, had  much  to  do  with  construction  work  on  the  railroads  and 
canals  in  the  western  section  of  the  state.  The  son  prepared  for 
college  at  the  local  schools  and  was  admitted  to  Yale  when  sixteen. 
He  did  not  live  on  the  Campus,  and  was  not  prominent  in  the  social 
life  of  undergraduates,  which,  for  this  period,  is  cleverly  illustrated 
in  The  College  Experiences  of  Ichahod  Academicus,  published  in 
1849.  He  joined  Linonia,  and  was  one  of  its  presidents  in  Senior 
year.  At  that  time  the  interest  in  the  society  seemed  to  be  waning. 
At  one  meeting  both  of  the  Seniors  appointed  to  read  compositions 
failed  to  respond,  as  did  also  two  of  the  regularly  chosen  disputants 
for  the  debate.  The  members  were  indignant  and  great  excitement 
prevailed.  Then  "Mr.  Newton  of  the  Senior  class  appeared  upon  the 
floor,  a  supporter  of  the  negative.  His  speech  was  sound  and  was 
listened  to  by  the  Society  with  marked  attention."^  So  read  the  old 
records.  We  find  him  debating  the  question  "Is  a  Congress  of 
Nations  practicable  and  desirable?"  taking  the  negative.  In  another 
place  the  records  tell  us  that  he  was  called  upon  and  "with  his  usual 

1  MS,  Records  of  the  Linonian  Society,  October  31,  1849. 

[48] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— HUBERT  ANSON  NEWTON 

promptness  responded  in  an  able  speech."'  He  delivered  an  oration 
on  India  at  the  Junior  Exhibition,  but  had  no  special  "part"  at 
Commencement,  in  spite  of  his  respectable  standing  as  a  scholar.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  and  retained  his 
interest  in  it,  acting  as  its  graduate  President  during  the  last  four 
years  of  his  life.  He  was  always  a  loyal  Yale  graduate,  serving  as 
Secretary  of  his  class,  and  publishing  the  Decennial  and  Twenty- 
Fifth  Anniversary  Records. 

After  graduation  he  studied  mathematics  both  at  Yale  and  in 
his  own  home,  and,  in  1853,  was  appointed  a  college  tutor.  His 
work  in  this  position  was  so  satisfactory  that  two  years  later,  at 
the  unusually  early  age  of  twenty-five,  he  was  elected  to  succeed 
Professor  Stanley  as  head  of  the  department  of  Mathematics,  with 
the  privilege  of  a  year  for  graduate  study  in  Europe.  This  professor- 
ship he  held  until  his  death — forty-one  years  later.  With  it  his  main 
life  work  is  identified.^  In  the  early  days  of  his  teaching  he  was 
specially  interested  in  higher  geometry,  but  the  showers  of  shooting 
stars  in  the  autumn  of  1863,  following  the  appearance  of  some  remark- 
able meteors,  turned  his  attention  definitely  to  a  little-known  depart- 
ment of  mathematical  astronomy.  Here  he  brought  law  and  order 
out  of  chaos,  doing  more  than  any  of  his  American  contemporaries 
to  develop  the  science  of  meteorology,  and  to  establish  it  on  a  firm 
footing.  This  result  was  due  not  so  much  to  his  own  discoveries,  as  to 
his  power  to  coordinate  the  observations  of  others,  and  to  deduce,  by 
difficult  mathematical  calculations,  laws  which  would  satisfactorily 
account  for  phenomena  widely  scattered  in  time  and  place  of  observa- 
tion. His  conclusions  were  embodied  in  an  elaborate  paper  "On 
Shooting  Stars"  printed  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences.  In  this  publication  he  determined  the  number,  frequency 
in  space  traversed  by  the  earth,  velocity,  and  form  of  the  orbits  of 

2  Ibid.,  November  14,  1849. 

3  Earlier  eminent  Yale  mathematicians  were  Jared  Mansfield  (B.A.  1777),  Professor  at 
West  Point,  Surveyor  General  of  the  United  States,  and  author  of  the  first  volume  of  original 
mathematical  papers  published  in  America,  and  Theodore  Strong  (B.A.  1812),  an  original 
member  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences. 

[49] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

meteors,  and  their  close  relationship  to  comets.  Professor  Newton 
foretold  the  return  of  the  meteoric  showers  in  1866.  Of  this  and  simi- 
lar predictions  the  great  Italian  astronomer,  Schiaparelli,  said:  "Not 
since  the  year  1759,  when  the  predicted  return  of  a  comet  first  took 
place,  had  the  verified  prediction  of  a  periodic  phenomenon  made  a 
greater  impression  than  the  magnificent  spectacle  of  November,  1866. 
The  study  of  cosmic  meteors  gained  thereby  the  dignity  of  a  science, 
and  took  finally  an  honorable  place  among  the  other  branches  of 
astronomy."*  Another  eminent  European  astronomer  has  borne  even 
more  direct  witness  to  Professor  Newton's  contributions  to  the 
subject  of  meteors  and  shooting  stars,  and  their  orbits.  He  wrote 
in  1867:  "  We  may  find  in  the  works  of  M.  Newton,  of  the  United 
States,  the  most  advanced  expression  of  the  state  of  science  on 
this  subject,  and  even  the  germ,  I  think,  of  the  very  remarkable 
ideas  brought  forward  in  these  last  days  by  M.  Schiaparelli  and 
M.  Leverrier."^ 

In  Professor  Newton's  extensive  bibhography  most  of  the  papers 
have  to  do  with  meteorology — the  motions  of  the  wanderers  in  the 
heavens.  He  never  tired  of  the  theme.  He  wrote,  in  1883,  the 
article  on  Meteors  in  the  Encyclopcedia  Britannica,  then  much  more 
of  a  British,  as  distinct  from  an  international,  publication,  than  it  is 
today.  In  1886,  as  retiring  President  of  the  American  Association 
for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  he  similarly  chose  as  his  theme  "The 
Meteorites,  the  Meteors,  and  the  Shooting  Stars."  The  collection  of 
meteorites,  given  to  the  University  by  his  daughters,  commemorates 
this  field  of  his  special  interest. 

His  work  as  one  of  the  leading  founders  of  modern  meteorology 
should  not  cause  us  to  forget  the  conspicuous  service  of  a  more  practi- 
cal character  which  he  rendered  as  an  advocate  of  the  metric  system, 
and  as  a  college  teacher  and  officer.  He  was  one  of  the  original 
founders  of  the  American  Metrological  Society,  and  was  "conspicu- 

4  Quoted  by  Gibbs,  in  his  National  Academy  Memoirs  of  Hubert  Anson  Newton,  p.  108. 
'^Ibid.,  p.  110.     (Quoted  from  M.  Faye,  in  Comptes  Rendus,  Vol.  LXIV,  p.  550.) 

[50] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— HUBERT  ANSON  NEWTON 

ously  active"^  in  the  movements  which  resulted  in  the  congressional 
action  of  1866,  legalizing  the  metric  system.  He  began  writing  on 
this  subject  in  1864,  and  two  years  later  was  asked  to  prepare  the 
official  table  of  the  metric  equivalents  for  the  units  of  weight  and 
measure  in  customary  use  for  the  House  of  Representatives  bill,  which 
was  duly  enacted.  But  he  was  not  satisfied  with  legislative  success. 
It  was  followed  up  by  earnest  work  with  publishers  of  school  arith- 
metics, and  with  manufacturers  of  various  instruments  of  precision — 
so  that  public  opinion  might  be  educated  to  the  advantages  of  the  new 
system.  In  this  movement  one  of  his  most  effective  co-workers  was 
Frederick  A.  P.  Barnard  (q.v.),  whose  interesting  letter  on  the  adop- 
tion of  the  new  standards  is  published  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  As 
a  teacher,  Professor  Newton  was  successful.  He  had  a  keen  love  for 
his  subject,  which  was  contagious  among  the  more  ambitious  students. 
As  he  said  on  receiving  the  honor  of  the  Smith  Medal  of  the  National 
Academy  for  his  investigations  on  the  orbits  of  meteoroids,  "It  gives 
joy  to  tell  others  of  the  treasure  found."^  He  was  a  faithful  and 
devoted  college  officer,  never  shirking  the  routine  work  which  con- 
nection with  the  College  Faculty  has  always  involved.  Yet  he  found 
time  for  his  scientific  studies,  and  for  playing  his  part  as  a  citizen 
by  membership  in  the  New  Haven  Board  of  Aldermen.  It  was  in 
the  Yale  Observatory,  of  which  he  was  for  many  j^ears  the  Director, 
that  he  did  his  most  important  administrative  work.  This  institution, 
which  had  earlier  received  its  fine  grounds  by  gifts  from  generous 
members  of  the  Hillhouse  and  Winchester  families,  was  formally 
organized  in  1882,  when  the  present  buildings  were  erected.  Pro- 
fessor Newton  was  proud  of  Yale's  record  in  astronom}^  including 
the  work  of  such  men  as  the  brilliant  young  genius  Ebenezer  Porter 
Mason  (q.v.),  Joseph  Stillman  Hubbard  (B.A.  1843),  and  Yale's 
Treasurer,  Edward  Claudius  Herrick  (Hon.  M.A.  1838),  and  he 
was  glad  of  the  opportunity  to  organize,  on  a  permanent  basis,  the 


6  Ibid.,  p.  119. 
T  Ibid.,  p.  118. 


[51] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Observatory,  in  whose  establishment  President  Dwight  says  that  "he 

was  perhaps  the  most  efficient  agent "® 

He  was  honored  by  having  his  biography  written  by  his  greatest 
American  scientific  contemporary,  Professor  Willard  Gibbs  (q.v.), 
who  was  for  a  generation  his  intimate  friend  and  Faculty  colleague. 
This  is  Gibbs'  well-deserved  tribute  to  his  character : 

In  all  these  papers  we  see  a  love  of  honest  work,  an  aversion  to  shams,  a  caution 
in  the  enunciation  of  conclusions,  a  distrust  of  rash  generalizations  and  speculations 
based  on  uncertain  premises.  He  was  never  anxious  to  add  one  more  guess  on  doubt- 
ful matters  in  the  hope  of  hitting  the  truth,  or  what  might  pass  as  such  for  a  time, 
but  was  already  ready  to  take  infinite  pains  in  the  most  careful  testing  of  every  theory. 
With  these  qualities  was  united  a  modesty  which  forbade  the  pushing  of  his  own 
claims  and  desired  no  reputation  except  the  unsought  tribute  of  competent  judges. 
At  the  close  of  the  article  on  meteors  in  the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  in  which  there 
is  not  the  slightest  reference  to  himself  as  a  contributor  to  the  subject,  he  remarks 
"Meteoric  science  is  a  structure  built  stone  by  stone  by  many  builders."  We  may 
add  that  no  one  has  done  more  than  himself  to  establish  the  foundations  of  this 
science,  and  that  the  stones  which  he  laid  are  not  likely  to  need  relaying.® 

Professor  Newton  received  many  honors,  some  of  which  have  already 
been  mentioned.  Others  included  fellowship  in  the  Royal  Societies  of 
London  and  of  Edinburgh.  These  were  evidences  of  the  solid  reputa- 
tion he  established.  He  was  not,  like  Gibbs,  practically  the  creator 
of  a  science,  but  he  did  more  than  any  of  his  contemporaries  to  inspire 
interest  in  meteorology,  and  to  bring  it  under  the  domain  of  law.  This 
could  onl}^  have  been  effected  by  one  who  was  equally  proficient  in 
mathematics  and  astronomy,  and  who  had  enough  vision  to  deduce 
general  principles  from  a  confused  mass  of  recorded  phenomena. 

A  Memoir  of  Hubert  Anson  Newton,  hy  J.  Willard  Gibbs,  was 
read  before  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  in  1897,  and  later 
published  as  one  of  its  Biographical  Memoirs. 


Paris  Nov.  27.  1855.  This  morning  after  taking  a  cup  of  coffee  and  a  crust 
of  bread  (in  France  the  bread  is  all  crust)  I  considered  more  or  less  attentively 
some  propositions  in  Geometric  Superieure  until  10  o'clock  when  I  took  my 

8  Dwight,  Memories  of  Yale  Life  and  Men,  p.  397. 

9  Gibbs,  Memoirs  of  Hubert  Anson  Newton,  p.  117. 

[52] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— HUBERT  ANSON  NEWTON 

breakfast.  At  10^/^  was  a  lecture.  I  was  there  10  minutes  late  and  waited 
five  minutes  for  the  Prof.  The  lecture  room  does  not  compare  with  ours  for 
comfort  there  being  no  backs  for  the  seats  and  no  alley  so  that  to  reach  the 
front  seats  we  walk  down  stepping  on  the  seats.  A  clumsy  arrangement  that. 
The  Prof,  has  so  far  been  uniformly  late.  Perhaps  his  watch  is  slow.  It  must 
run  too  slow  he  finished  about  1%  hours  after  the  time  for  the  beginning. 

But  here  he  comes.  He  is  a  man  about  65  a  little  more  probably.  He 
has  a  raw  beefy  Jooking  countenance  and  his  appearance  otherwise  is  not  much 
different  as  he  need  not  be  ashamed  to  place  himself  on  the  other  beam  of  the 
scales  from  Mr.  Skinner.  He  certainly  does  not  give  his  personal  countenance 
to  the  remark  that  I  have  heard  made  that  Mathematicians  are  spare  & 
skeleton-like.  Like  Memory  in  the  poem  (Colton  will  recollect  the  allusion  if 
you  dont)  he  stands  sideways.  With  one  hand  in  his  pocket,  he  chalks  out 
the  diagrams  &  formulas  with  the  other.  He  never  looks  up  at  the  class.  I 
mistake,  he  did  once  look  up  and  the  expression  was  so  ludicrous  that  we 
could  not  help  laughing.  In  time  he  finished.  That  is  at  the  close  of  one  of  his 
sentences  without  changing  his  manner  or  looking  up  he  closed  a  book  he  had 
on  the  table  walked  towards  the  door  and  taking  his  hat  stepped  out  while  we 
waited  to  hear  the  next  sentence.  We  looked  at  the  spot  where  we  [he]  dis- 
appeared then  at  each  other  then  laughed  then  concluding  the  lecture  was  over 
dispersed.  This  lecturer  is  Sturm  one  of  the  greatest  mathematicians  in  all 
Europe.  From  the  Sorbonne  I  went  across  the  city  to  my  bankers  where  I  was 
rejoiced  to  find  a  letter  from  my  old  roommate  Brewer.  (Little's  name  was 
on  the  register.     Called  on  him  but  he  was  out)     Went  to  Amer.  Ministry  for 

visa.     Thence  went  the  Champ  de  Mars The  King  of  Sardinia  is  here 

now  and  the  Emperor  reviewed  the  few  troops  kept  in  Paris  for  his  diversion. 
I  am  fortunate  in  having  witnessed  the  parade. 

Verily  I  have  seen  the  French  Empire.  L.  Napoleon  said  "the  Empire  is 
peace."  To  days  pageant  was  peaceful  but  it  spoke  of  peace  in  more  senses 
than  one.  Those  40000  bayonets  are  the  empire  &  make  the  peace  of  Paris. 
God  Grant  we  may  never  need  (I  will  not  say  have)  such  an  empire,  or  such  a 
peace  in  America 

No  one  who  reads  the  biographies  in  this  work  can  fail  to  appre- 
ciate the  power  of  the  wander jalir  in  American  education.  It  is  seen 
in  most  striking  form  in  the  experiences  of  men  like  Woolsey  and 
Winthrop,  but  it  has  meant  much  to  most  of  the  Yale  scholars  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  Newton  was  no  exception.  This  home  copy  of 
a  letter  to  a  college  friend  is  typical.    Descriptions  full  of  humor  of 

[53] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

foreign  university  scenes,  references  to  classmates,  and  other  Yale 
friends  (W.  S.  Colton,  B.A.  1850,  a  fellow  tutor;  John  H.  Brewer, 
B.A.  1850,  his  roommate,  and  Bobbins  Little,  B.A.  1851),  and  con- 
temporary accounts  of  French  life  and  politics — such  are  character- 
istic touches.  The  experience  of  eminent  Yalensians  shows  that  there 
is  no  better  investment  than  a  year  abroad  between  college  and  the 
more  strenuous  work  of  life.  Newton's  studies  at  Paris  were  mainly 
under  Chasles  and  Sturm.  He  was  specially  influenced  by  the  former. 
As  this  journal  letter  is  not  signed,  a  signature  has  been  added  from 
another  source. 


[54] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— SAMUEL  WILLIAM  JOHNSON 

Samuel  William  Johnson 
Class  of  1851-1853 

Born,  July  3,  1830;  Died,  July  21,  1909 
Founder  of  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  Movement 

The  rapid  progress  of  scientific  agriculture  in  the  United  States 
is  largely  the  result  of  Professor  Johnson's  pioneer  efforts.  He  was 
born  in  Kingsboro,  New  York.  On  both  sides  he  was  descended  from 
old  Connecticut  stock.  His  formal  studies  were  carried  on  in  the  dis- 
trict schools  and  at  the  Lowville  Academy,  where  there  was  a  good 
teacher  of  science.  But  as  a  preparation  for  his  career  the  life  of 
the  farm  and  of  the  home  doubtless  contributed  as  much  as  the  school- 
room. He  dedicated  his  first  book  to  his  father,  a  very  intelligent 
farmer,  whom  he  called  his  "earliest  and  best  instructor."  Before 
entering  Yale  his  attention  had  been  drawn  to  agricultural  chemistry. 
He  had  begun  to  write  scientific  articles,  and  at  the  early  age  of  six- 
teen had  fitted  up  a  laboratory  in  his  parents'  home.  His  appetite 
for  research  had  been  whetted,  and  after  a  couple  of  years  of  school- 
teaching,  he  determined  to  pursue  advanced  studies.  In  the  autumn  of 
1849  he  decided  definitely  to  go  to  Yale.  Six  months  earlier  his 
eyes  had  been  gazing  longingly  at  the  opportunities  which  the  Univer- 
sity's laboratories  afforded.  "When  I  have  accumulated  a  few  hun- 
dred dollars,  I  will  take  a  course  of  instruction  in  Yale  College  Labo- 
ratory, but  until  then  how  long!  But  my  soul  gather  thee  for  the 
conflict,  for  the  toil,  since  great  is  the  reward."^ 

In  Analyses  of  Limestone,  published  in  April  of  this  same  year, 
he  gives  a  clear  statement  of  the  purpose  of  his  own  life  work. 

Much  is  to  be  hoped  from  the  labors  of  scientific  men,  conducive  to  the  inter- 
ests of  agriculture.  The  farmer  has  to  deal  with  nature;  to  follow  intelligently 
his  business  supposes  a  knowledge  of  her  laws.  These  laws  are  the  professed  object 
of  the  chemist's  inquiry,  and  hence  follows, — what  experience  has  a  thousand  times 

1  Osborne,  From  the  Letter-Files  of  8.  W.  Johnson,  p.  14. 

[55] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

established, — the  ability  of  the  chemist  to  fashion  his  practice  so  as  best  to  assist 
and  imitate  nature,  and  consequently  to  gain  from  her  the  greatest  amount  of 
benefit.^ 

In  January,  1850,  he  began  in  earnest  his  work  in  the  Scientific 
School.  Here  were  his  first  impressions,  recorded  after  his  visit  to 
New  Haven  a  couple  of  months  earlier,  when  he  had  his  important 
and  decisive  conference  with  Professor  John  Pitkin  Norton   (q.v.)  : 

I  write  from  the  classic  shades  of  old  Yale.  The  "City  of  Elms"  is  at  present 
my  stopping  place.  I  left  Flushing  Wednesday  at  2  o'c.  P.M.  and,  thanks  to  Robert 
Fulton  and  the  paddles  of  the  splendid  steamer  "Connecticut,"  at  9  o'c.  P.M.  I 
was  set  down  in  New  Haven.  I  soon  found  my  old  friend  C.  Storrs,  from  whose 
room  in  North  College  I  am  now  writing.  I  shall  probably  return  to  Flushing 
tomorrow.  My  session  of  5  months  is  closed.  We  have  no  regular  vacation,  but 
the  departure  of  many  of  the  students  at  this  the  regular  time  of  departure  leaves 
us  without  a  very  pressing  amount  of  business,  and  so  I  have  taken  a  short  respite. 
My  present  idea  is  to  return  to  Flushing  and  remain  two  months,  until  Dec.  6th,  and 
then  take  up  my  residence  in  New  Haven.  I  have  visited  the  Analytical  Laboratory 
which  is  hardly  a  stone's  cast  from  my  pen's  point,  have  seen  and  conversed  with 

Prof.  J.  P.  Norton He  is  a  fine  specimen  of  a  polished,  real  live  Yankee  (I 

should  judge),  very  plain,  unpretending,  and  possesses  a  "quantum  sufficit"  of 
common  sense.  The  encouragements  he  holds  out  to  me  are  of  the  most  flattering 
kind.  The  success  of  his  enterprise,  the  "Chemical  School,"  is  beyond  that  of  the 
Cambridge  establishment,  and  since  expenses  of  living  are  so  much  cheaper  here 
than  there  I  am  decided  that  this  is  the  place.  In  answer  to  my  inquiries  concerning 
the  support  a  chemist  could  command,  he  said  that  there  were  two  situations  to  one 
man  already,  that  he  had  applications  now  that  he  could  not  fill  and  had  been 
obliged  to  send  away  young  men  to  fill  places  before  he  wished  to;  that  is,  before 
they  had  fully  completed  their  course.  He  thinks  there  is  no  risk  in  getting  lucrative 
employment,  especially  as  Professors  and  Teachers  of  Agricultural  Chemistry.  My 
expenses  here  would  be  about  $350  or  $400.  And  here  let  me  say  a  few  words  as 
to  the  funds  I  have  at  disposal.     The  wages  for  my  winter's  work  were  $80.  for  my 

summer's  $150.  =:  $230.     Where  is  it?     Oh  where  is  it?  where?  ?     I  have 

given  about  $20.  in  obedience  to  the  golden  rule,  to  whom  I  may  not  say.  I  believe 
it  was  well  given.  My  journey  home  cost  about  $10.  My  return  cost  me  nothing. 
A  watch  cost  $12.  I  have  procured  clothes  to  the  amt.  of  $15.,  $30  or  more  has 
gone  for  books, — all  good  serviceable  necessary  books.  My  present  expedition  con- 
sumes with  the  utmost  economy — shilling  dinners  at  restaurants,  $10.  A  dozen 
excursions  to  New  York,  etc.,  have  cost  as  many  dollars.  Sightseeing,  all  laudable 
for  I  don't  give  money  without  getting  its  worth,  has  taken  more.  I  have  improved 
my  leisure  hours  with  chemical  study  and  experiments — this  has  used  money — and  I 

2  Ibid.,  p.  15. 

[56] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— SAMUEL  WILLIAM  JOHNSON 

have  only  about  $100.  left.  Two  months  more  will  swell  the  amount  to  $150.  This 
will  keep  me  in  Yale  6  mo.,  then  I  can  look  out  for  ways  and  means  to  raise  more. 
My  bodily  appetites  I  can  control,  so  that  I  have  only  one  passion  that  is  a  well 
ridden  hobby  horse  that  consumes  money  without  control,  and  that  is  a  love  of  books, 
or  what  is  in  them.^ 

Norton,  the  two  Sillimans,  Dana,  and  Porter  were  giving  courses  that 
interested  Johnson,  and  they  took  a  keen  interest  in  their  promising 
student.  His  college  days  were  busy  ones,  involving  not  only  the 
routine  work  of  a  special  graduate  student,  but  the  writing  of  articles 
for  the  American  Journal  of  Science ^  the  study  of  German  prepara- 
tory to  going  abroad,  and  the  necessity  of  helping  towards  his  own 
self-support  by  some  commercial  analytic  work.  His  purse  was 
always  nearly  empty  and  he  often  cooked  his  own  meals  for  the  sake 
of  economy.  The  influence  of  Yale  upon  him  was  mainly  through 
contact  with  the  eminent  scientists  on  its  Faculty,  some  of  whom 
treated  him  almost  as  much  as  an  associate  as  they  did  as  a  pupil. 
After  over  two  j^ears  of  work  in  their  laboratories,  interrupted  by 
a  winter's  teaching  in  Albany,  he  determined  upon  further  study 
abroad.  He  spent  a  couple  of  years  with  the  leading  chemists  in 
Leipsic,  Munich,  and  Paris,  and  investigated  the  most  approved  Eng- 
lish experimental  farms.  The  winter  under  Liebig  in  Munich  was 
probably  the  most  stimulating  single  experience,  especially  as  he 
became  intimate  with  him  personally. 

In  the  summer  of  1855  Professor  Silliman,  Jr.  (B.A.  1837), 
wrote  him  the  following  letter  which  throws  interesting  light  on  con- 
ditions at  Yale  in  the  early  days  of  the  Scientific  School : 

I  have  the  pleasure  to  inform  you  that  you  have  been  nominated  Assistant 
Professor  of  Chemistry  in  the  Yale  Scientific  School  and  as  soon  as  your  appoint- 
ment has  been  confirmed  by  the  Corporation,  which  will  be  on  the  26  of  July,  you 
will  have  official  notice  of  it.  We  Iiave  for  the  present  decided  to  offer  you  as 
salary  six  hundred  dollars  pr.  annum ;  as  an  officer  of  the  College  you  will,  I  suppose, 
be  entitled  to  a  room  in  the  College  buildings  if  you  wish  to  use  it,  and  you  can  eke 
out  your  salary,  should  you  wish  to  do  so,  by  private  instruction  in  the  schools. 

Your  name  appears  in  the  July  No.  of  the  Journal  as  Assistant,  which  liberty 
I  hope  you  will  pardon.     Prof.  Porter  and  myself  are  responsible  for  your  salary, 

3  Ibid.,  pp.  22,  23. 

[57] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

but  $200  or  $250  will  be  the  income  of  a  permanent  fund,  the  remainder  if  not  earned 
by  the  Laboratory  will  be  made  up  by  us.  We  are  sorry  to  be  obliged  to  offer  you  so 
inconsiderable  a  sum,  but  as  you  know  the  Laboratory  is  unendowed,  and  we  are 
forced  to  make  it  pay  its  own  expenses,  i.e.  salaries  of  yourself  and  Mr.  Chas. 
Porter  and  the  material  and  apparatus,  fuel  and  servant,  etc.  For  ourselves  we  do 
not  expect  to  draw  a  dime  from  it,  and  shall  consider  ourselves  fortunate  if  we  do 
not  have  to  make  up  a  considerable  deficit.  With  the  new  organization,  however, 
we  hope  for  a  new  vitality  in  the  condition  of  the  Laboratory.  The  new  system  of 
instruction  in  the  Senior  Class  by  which  recitations  are  substituted  for  lectures  in 
the  proportion  of  24  of  the  former  to  36  of  the  latter  will,  when  it  comes  into  full 
play  the  ensuing  winter,  develop  all  the  chemical  talent  that  there  is  in  the  class,  and 
no  doubt  induce  some  to  enter  the  Analytical  Laboratory  who  otherwise  would  not 
do  so.  Mr.  Chas  Porter,  who  is  the  second  in  authority,  yourself  being  first,  will  take 
the  commercial  analyses  and  aid  you  in  such  things  as  you  may  desire.  During  the 
first  term  I  shall  have  3  exercises  daily  with  the  general  class,  and  can,  of  course, 
devote  no  time  to  instruction  in  the  Analytical  Laboratory.  But  in  the  2d  and  3d 
terms  I  shall  undertake  to  give  instruction  in  mineralogy  and  in  technical  chemistry. 
Until  Brush  comes  home  in  the  fall  of  '56  we  shall  hardly  be  able  to  make  our 

scheme  complete,  and  shall  hold  ourselves  open  for  a  remodeling The  old 

laboratory  is  in  a  good  deal  of  a  dilapidated  condition  and  needs  repairs  very  much. 
These  we  shall  hope  to  make  in  vacation.* 

He  consequently  returned  immediately  to  take  charge  of  the 
Yale  Analytic  Laboratory.  In  this  he  was  so  successful  that  he 
was  promoted  to  a  professorsliip  the  following  year.  The  title  of 
the  chair  was  slightly  changed  from  time  to  time,  indicating  the  main 
emphasis  of  his  work.  In  1857  it  was  Agricultural  and  Analytical 
Chemistry,  while  a  decade  and  a  half  later  it  became  Theoretical  and 
Agricultural  Chemistry.  The  Analytic  Laboratory,  in  the  old  presi- 
dent's house  on  the  site  of  Farnam  Hall,  may  be  considered  the  origi- 
nal home  of  the  Scientific  School  of  the  University,  which,  in  1861, 
was  given  the  name  of  its  munificent  benefactor,  Joseph  Earl  Sheffield. 
It  was  opened  in  1847  by  Professor  John  Pitkin  Norton  (q.v.),  who 
had  been  Johnson's  teacher,  and  whose  early  death,  in  1852,  was  a 
public  misfortune. 

In  the  year  of  his  appointment  to  the  Yale  professorship, 
Johnson  also  became  Chemist  of  the  Connecticut  State  Agricultural 
Society.     In  1857  he  issued  his  first  report,  which  had  an  enormous 

4  Ibid.,  pp.  90,  91. 

[58] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— SAMUEL  WILLIAM  JOHNSON 

influence  on  the  history  of  science  as  applied  to  agriculture,  especially 
through  its  discussion  of  commercial  fertilizers  and  similar  subjects. 
A  member  of  the  National  Academy  writing  of  it  says : 

This  report  was  much  more  than  a  chemist's  statement  of  analytical  results 
and  has  had  a  lasting  influence.  It  instructed  the  farmer  in  many  things  of  great 
practical  importance  to  the  proper  conduct  of  his  business  and  set  a  standard  for 
those  who  have  since  been  engaged  in  the  application  of  science  to  agriculture. 
One  cannot  fail  to  recognize  in  this  report  the  beginning  of  the  movement  which 
later  led  to  the  establishment  in  every  State  of  the  agricultural  experiment  stations, 
which  are  now  filling  such  an  important  place  in  the  development  of  American 
agriculture.  We  can  fairly  say  that  Professor  Johnson  was  himself  the  first 
agricultural  experiment  station  in  this  country.^ 

The  Agricultural  Society  was  not  a  sufficiently  representative  or 
permanent  body  to  carry  the  movement,  so,  after  much  agitation  by 
Professor  Johnson  and  his  friends,  a  State  Board  of  Agriculture 
was  established.  He  was  appointed  its  Chemist,  and  a  laboratory 
was  opened  at  Wesleyan  University,  with  one  of  his  former  assistants, 
Wilbur  O.  Atwater  (Ph.D.  1869),  in  charge.  Thus,  as  a  direct 
result  of  his  efforts,  the  work  of  the  Yale  Laboratory  was  seconded 
by  the  commonwealth,  and  Connecticut  had  the  first  State  Agricul- 
tural Experiment  Station  in  the  country.  It  is  only  when  we  realize 
the  extraordinary  services  which  these  stations — now  scattered  through 
the  land — have  rendered  in  improving  the  methods,  conditions,  and 
products  of  American  farming,  that  we  can  appreciate  the  signifi- 
cance of  Professor  Johnson's  pioneer  services.  As  President  Gilman 
once  said,  the  cost  of  the  Sheffield  Scientific  School  would  have  been 
repaid  if  it  had  done  nothing  more  than  uphold  the  idea  of  these 
experiment  stations."  And  it  was  no  easy  task  to  persuade  an 
American  legislature  of  the  seventies'  that  scientific  investigation  and 
training  could  pay  in  dollars  and  cents.  It  required  indefatigable 
energy,  and  a  sense  of  mission,  together  with  much  power  of  popular 
presentation  on  platform  and  with  pen,  to  accomplish  this  result. 

5  T.  B.  Osborne,  in  National  Academy  of  Sciences.  Biogra/phical  Memoirs.  Vol.  VII, 
p.  209. 

6  Gilman,  The  Sheffield  Scientific  School  of  Yale  University,  p.  31. 

7  Connecticut  made  its  first  appropriation,  $3,800,  in  1875. 

[59] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

These  were  all  possessed  by  Professor  Johnson  in  his  prime.  His 
use  of  them  in  the  public  service  is  a  good  example  of  the  way  a 
university  can  help  its  state,  as  now  seen  in  its  most  striking  form  at 
the  University  of  Wisconsin. 

In  1877  Connecticut  established  its  permanent  Station  in  New 
Haven.  This  was  long  housed  in  the  Sheffield  Scientific  School. 
Professor  Johnson  acted  as  Director,  and  here,  along  with  the  duties 
of  his  professorship,  he  established  methods  and  standards  of  work 
which  have  profoundly  influenced  similar  institutions  elsewhere. 
Largely  as  a  result  of  this  the  experiment  stations  of  the  country 
share  the  confidence  of  the  theoretical  scientists  and  of  the  farmers 
alike,  and  have  been  a  national  educational  force.  It  was  no  exaggera- 
tion when  President  Hadley  wrote:  "It  has  been  said  that  the  most 
substantial  contribution  of  the  United  States  to  applied  science  has 
been  in  using  chemistry  for  the  improvement  of  agriculture.  Of  this 
movement  Professor  Johnson  was  the  leader.  The  whole  system 
of  agricultural  experiment  stations  may  well  be  regarded  as  his 
monument."* 

Closely  allied  to  this  work  was  the  field  of  publication.  It  was 
not  only  necessary  that  experts  should  investigate  soils  and  fertilizers, 
the  relation  of  chemistry  to  agricidture,  and  the  composition  and 
physiology  of  plants,  but  that  someone  should  put  in  plain  English 
for  the  average  layman  the  conclusions  of  science  on  these  subjects. 
This  Johnson  did,  in  classic  form,  in  two  books — How  Crops  Grow 
and  How  Crops  Feed,  published  in  1868  and  in  1870.  They  have 
passed  through  many  editions,  and  have  been  translated  into  German, 
Russian,  Swedish,  and  Japanese — the  first  also  into  French  and 
Italian,  with  a  reprint  in  England.  They  have  been  of  international 
significance  in  creating  an  intelligent  interest  among  farmers  in 
agricultural  chemistry,  and  even  now,  after  forty  years,  continue  in 
demand.  He  also  wrote  and  edited  other  volumes,  and  articles  in 
the  American  Journal  of  Science,  the  American  Chemical  Journal, 

8  Report  of  the  President  of  Yale  University,  for  1910,  p.  28. 

[60] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— SAMUEL  WILLIAM  JOHNSON 

and  elsewhere.  His  bibliography  includes  over  fifty  scientific  papers 
and  twice  as  many  educational  articles,  but  his  report  of  1857  as 
Chemist  of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  the  two  books  mentioned, 
and  his  annual  Director's  reports  from  1877  to  1900,  were  probably 
his  most  important  writings.  In  estimating  his  influence,  his  own 
teaching  in  the  Sheffield  Scientific  School,  and  his  work  of  direction 
in  various  laboratories,  must  not  be  overlooked.  He  was  not  magnetic 
to  the  average  undergraduate,  but  he  had  that  rare  gift  for  an 
instructor — the  power  to  commimicate  to  his  serious  students  a  deep 
interest  in  science.  If  he  could  stimulate  a  few  men  of  capacity  to 
try  to  solve  some  large  problem,  it  pleased  him  more  than  to  gain 
the  honor  of  solving  it  himself. 

He  was  a  quiet,  retiring  man,  to  whom  the  laboratory  and 
scientific  books  represented,  in  addition  to  the  home,  the  main  interests 
of  life,  and  yet  he  was  able  when  aroused  in  early  manhood  to  carry 
on  a  great  educational  campaign.  He  deserves  a  place  of  special 
honor  in  the  memory  of  Yale  men  for  accomplishing  creative  work 
of  prime  importance  in  agricultural  chemistry,  and  for  being  the 
promoter  and  founder  of  the  Experiment  Station  movement.  This 
has  added  untold  wealth  to  the  country.  In  President  Oilman's 
delightful  address  at  the  Bicentennial  there  is  this  paragraph : 

Agricultural  science  in  the  United  States  owes  much  to  the  influences  which 
have  gone  out  from  the  Sheffield  School.  John  P.  Norton,  John  A.  Porter,  Samuel 
W.  Johnson,  William  H.  Brewer,  each  in  his  own  peculiar  way,  has  rendered  much 
service.  Johnson  is  pre-eminent,  and  in  addition  to  his  standing  as  a  chemist,  is 
honored  as  one  of  the  first  and  most  persuasive  advocates  of  the  Experimental 
Stations  now  maintained,  with  the  aid  of  the  Government,  in  every  part  of  the 
country.  We  cannot  forget  the  value  of  "the  crops":  we  may  forget  how  much 
their  value  has  been  enhanced  by  the  quiet,  inconspicuous,  patient  and  acute 
observations  of  such  men  as  those  whom  I  have  named,  the  men  behind  the  men 
who  stand  behind  the  plough.  They  are  the  followers  in  our  generation  of  Jared 
Eliot,  the  colonial  advocate  of  agricultural  science.® 

His  memorials  at  the  University  are  his  valuable  collection  of 
scientific  books  given  to  the  Library,  and  a  portrait  in  the  Sheffield 

9  Yale  Bicentennial  Celebration,  p.  351. 

[61] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Scientific  School.  Thomas  Burr  Osborne  (B.A.  1881)  has  written 
a  Biographical  Memoir  of  Samuel  William  Johnson  for  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences.  Mrs.  Osborne,  Professor  Johnson's  daughter, 
who  has  supplied  the  accompanying  letter,  has  published  an  interesting 
biography  under  the  title  From  the  Letter-Files  of  S.  W.  Johnson. 


New  Haven  Conn  Oct  10th  1860 
Mr.  Sheffield 
Dear  Sir 

However  greatly  the  country  at  large  may  be  indebted  to  your  generous 
liberality  in  founding  the  Scientific  School  on  a  sure  basis  I  feel  that  no 
individual  has  more  cause  of  gratitude  than  myself. 

What  gratification  it  has  been  to  me  to  plan  in  part  and  watch  the  growth 
of  a  Laboratory  which  thanks  to  your  bounty  is  superior  to  any  yet  erected 
for  all  serious  purposes,  and  not  inferior  to  any  in  elegance — I  can  by  no 
means  express. 

It  was  another  pleasure  to  be  assured  that  you  were  ready  to  equip  the 
new  Laborator}'^  with  a  number  of  costly  instruments  and  with  such  a  collection 
of  chemical  preparations  as  would  enable  it  to  vie  in  all  respects  with  other 
similar  institutions  in  this  country. 

And  now  your  crowning  act  of  munificence  places  me  in  the  position  to 
devote  nearly  my  whole  energies  to  the  noble  science  with  which  in  boyhood  I 
resolved  to  link  my  fortunes. 

Be  assured  Dear  Sir  that  my  gratitude  though  rather  of  the  silent  order, 
verbally,  will  constantly  seek  to  express  itself  in  faithful  labors  for  the  success 
of  the  Institution  which  I  hope  may  shortly  bear  the  name  of  its  honored 
Patron. 

With  the  highest  Regard 

Yours  Truly 
Samuel  W.  Johnson 

This  is  a  corrected  draft  by  Professor  Johnson  of  a  letter 
of  thanks  to  Joseph  E.  Sheffield.  Mr.  Sheffield  had  been  so 
impressed  with  the  cramped  quarters  in  the  old  president's  house, 
where  Professor  Johnson  and  his  associates  had  been  working,  that 
he  purchased,  in  1859,  the  former  Medical  Building  at  the  head  of 
College  Street,  now  known  as  old  Sheffield  Hall,    He  added  the  two 

[62] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— SAMUEL  WILLIAM  JOHNSON 

wings  at  a  cost  of  about  $30,000 — that  on  the  west  becoming  the 
Chemical  Laboratory.  In  the  smnmer  of  1860  the  renovated  building 
was  formally  transferred  to  the  Corporation,  and  its  donor  added  an 
endowment  of  $50,000  for  the  payment  of  salaries.  At  the  following 
Commencement,  in  July,  1861,  Professor  Johnson's  hope  was 
gratified,  and  this  important  Department  of  the  University  was  given 
"the  name  of  its  honored  Patron"  by  being  formally  designated  as  the 
Sheffield  Scientific  School.  Up  to  this  time  it  had  merely  been  called 
the  Yale  Scientific  School,  or  sometimes  the  Scientific  School  of  Yale 
CoUege.  It  took  more  than  a  year  of  pleading  before  Mr.  Sheffield 
consented  that  the  School  should  bear  his  name.  Professor  Johnson 
was  associated  on  a  committee  with  his  colleagues,  Professors  Norton 
and  Dana,  in  urging  the  acceptance  of  this  proposal.'" 

10  See  "Joseph  Earl  SheflSeld,"  in  New  Haven  Colony  Historical  Society  Papers,  Vol.  VII. 


[63] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 
JOSIAH   WiLLARD    GiBBS 

Class  of  1858 

Born,  February  11,  1839;  Died,  April  28,  1903 
"Discoverer  and  Interpreter  of  the  Laws  of  Chemical  Equilibrium" 

The  case  of  Willard  Gibbs  is  an  extraordinary  one.  He  is 
considered  by  quahfied  judges  at  home  and  abroad  to  have  been  one 
of  the  greatest  scientific  geniuses  of  his  centur\\  Yet  his  name  is 
entirely  unknown  to  ninety-nine  educated  men  out  of  a  hundred,  and 
even  a  majority  of  the  graduates  of  the  University  to  which  he 
devoted  his  life,  has  never  heard  of  his  epoch-making  discoveries  in 
the  realm  of  mathematical  physics.  He  was  born  in  a  Yale  house- 
hold in  New  Haven.  His  father^  was  a  distinguished  philologist. 
From  him  the  son  inherited  those  characteristics  of  indefatigable 
industry,  accuracy,  concentration,  and  true  modesty,  that  are  the 
marks  of  the  scholar.  His  remoter  ancestors  included  such  intellectual 
leaders  as  President  Willard  of  Harv^ard  and  President  Dickinson 
(q.v.)  of  Princeton. 

He  was  prepared  for  college  at  the  Hopkins  Grammar  School. 
His  undergraduate  course  was  marked  by  high  scholarship,  especially 
in  Latin  and  mathematics.  He  graduated  third  in  his  class,  and  was 
consequently  a  member  of  Phi  Beta  Kappa.  We  find  him  delivering 
a  Latin  Oration  at  the  Junior  Exhibition,  De  Veri  Amore,  and 
winning  several  prizes,  including  a  Berkeley  Latin  Composition 
premium,  a  third  Clark  Prize,  and  the  first  Senior  JNIathematical 
Prize.  He  was  Clark  Scholar  as  well  as  Bristed  Scholar,  the  latter 
a  distinction  which  involves  high  classical  attainments.  The  extreme 
reserve  so  noticeable  in  after  life  was  already  characteristic  of  Gibbs, 
and  he  took  little  part  in  the  general  life  of  the  class  and  of  the 
Campus.  He  lived  throughout  his  course  at  his  father's  house,  71 
High  Street. 

1  Josiah  Willard  Gibbs  (q.v,). 

[64] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— JOSIAH  WILLARD  GIBBS 

For  five  years  after  receiving  his  Bachelor's  degree,  he  pursued 
postgraduate  studies  at  the  University,  securing  the  Doctorate  of 
Philosophy  in  1863.  The  Yale  Corporation  was  the  first  to  establish 
this  degree  in  America — in  1860 — so  Gibbs  was  one  of  that  early 
band  of  students  who  shared  the  stimulus  to  advanced  research,  which 
work  for  the  degree  created.  For  three  years  he  served  as  a  tutor — 
first  in  Latin,  later  in  natural  philosophy.  Then  came  an  equally 
long  period  of  European  study  at  the  mathematical  centers  of  the 
time — Paris,  Berlin,  Heidelberg.  Soon  after  his  return  to  America 
he  was  elected  Professor  of  Mathematical  Physics  in  Yale,  which 
position  he  held  until  his  death,  a  period  of  about  one-third  of  a 
century. 

Such  was  the  outwardly  uneventful  career  of  this  typical  scholar 
who  lived  his  life  quietly  in  a  university  town,  never  marrying,  and 
devoting  himself  with  the  application  of  intense  thought  to  the  solution 
of  some  of  the  major  problems  of  physics.  He  never  had  many 
students,  for  few  men  had  had  the  mathematical  training  necessary 
to  understand  his  lectures.  The  results  he  achieved  show  how 
inconclusive  the  size  of  a  teacher's  courses  may  be  as  a  final  test  of 
service.  When  he  began  the  work  of  his  professorship  at  Yale,  he 
had  only  two  men  in  his  classroom.  But  they  both  became  professors 
in  Yale  University,  and  they  look  back  with  deep  gratitude  to  his 
instruction  in  the  then  little-known  field  of  physical  optics.  As  a 
coUege  instructor  of  large  divisions  he  would  have  been  a  failure. 
But  for  those  few  men  in  every  student  generation  who  had  the  will 
and  the  ability  to  fathom  deep  mathematical  problems,  he  was  an 
inspiring  guide.  It  was  in  thermodynamics — "the  science  which 
treats  of  heat  as  a  form  of  energy,  and  of  the  various  conditions  which 
govern  the  transformation  of  heat  into  other  forms  of  energy" — that 
Gibbs'  epoch-making  work  was  accomplished.  The  period  from  1873 
to  1878,  from  his  thirty-fourth  to  his  thirty-ninth  year,  saw  the 
publication  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Connecticut  Academy  of  Arts 

[65] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

and  Sciences'  of  three  papers,  the  third  of  which,  On  the  Equilibrium 
of  Heterogeneous  Substances,  is  his  most  important  contribution  to 
phj^sical  science.  It  is  said  by  a  competent  authority  to  be  "unques- 
tionably among  the  greatest  and  most  enduring  monuments  of  the 
wonderful  scientific  activity  of  the  nineteenth  century."^  It  was  over 
a  decade  before  these  papers  were  widely  known  by  scientific  men 
abroad,  and  then  largely  through  their  translation,  in  1892,  by 
Professor  Ostwald,  of  Leipsic,  under  the  title  of  Thermodynamische 
Studien.  In  the  preface  Ostwald  used  the  German  equivalent  of 
these  words : 

The  importance  of  the  thermodynamic  papers  of  Willard  Gibbs  can  best  be 
indicated  by  the  fact  that  in  them  is  contained,  explicitly  or  implicitly,  a  large  part 
of  the  discoveries  which  have  since  been  made  by  various  investigators  in  the  domain 
of  chemical  and  physical  equilibrium  and  which  have  led  to  so  notable  a  development 

in  this  field The  contents  of  this  work  are  to-day  of  immediate  importance 

and  by  no  means  of  merely  historical  value.  For  of  the  almost  boundless  wealth 
of  results  which  it  contains,  or  to  which  it  points  the  way,  only  a  small  part  has  up 
to  the  present  time  been  made  fruitful.  Untouched  treasures  of  the  greatest  variety 
and  of  the  greatest  importance  both  to  the  theoretical  and  to  the  experimental 
investigator  still  lie  within  its  pages.* 

The  significance  of  this  work  is  that  it  first  brought  under  the  domain 
of  law  the  relation  of  heat  to  chemical  action.  The  conservation  of 
energy  through  the  transformation  of  heat  into  mechanical  work  was 
known  before  Gibbs,  but  it  was  his  genius  that  discovered  and  inter- 
preted the  relation  of  heat  to  the  energy  of  chemical  action.  By  this 
work,  built  up  on  the  three  publications  already  mentioned,  he  laid 
the  foundations  for  a  new  science — physical  chemistry.  In  fact,  these 
papers  contain,  as  far  as  the  statement  of  general  principles  is 
concerned,  the  outlines  of  the  science  as  it  was  to  be  developed  during 
the  next  generation.  Perhaps  the  "Phase  Rule" — by  which  "the 
number  of  different  chemical  substances  actually  interacting  in  a 

2  This  society,  commonly  known  as  the  Connecticut  Academy,  was  founded  in  New  Haven, 
in  1799.  It  has  become  an  important  agency  for  scientific  publication,  and  for  maintaining 
the  Library's  exchange  list. 

3  Professor  H.  A.  Bumstead,  quoted  in  J^ational  Academy  of  Sciences.  Biographical 
Memoirs.    Vol.  VI,  p.  378. 

4  Quoted  by  Bumstead,  Josiah  Willard  Oibbs,  p.  6. 

[66] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— JOSIAH  WILLARD  GIBBS 

given  complex  system  can  be  determined  from  observation  of  the 
degree  of  spontaneous  variation  which  it  exhibits"^ — is  the  most 
important  single  contribution  contained  in  these  early  studies  by 
Gibbs.  A  single  quotation  from  an  English  scientist  may  be  taken 
as  a  good  summary  of  what  was  accomplished  by  his  paper  On  the 
Equilibrium  of  Heterogeneous  Substances,  a  publication  which 
appeared  modestl}^  and  remained  for  the  most  part  hidden  treasure 
for  years,  but  which  is  now  recognized  as  one  of  the  world's  scientific 
classics : 

Concerning  the  latter  paper  little  remains  to  be  said  at  the  present  day.  It 
is  universally  recognized  as  having  laid  in  an  imperishable  form  the  foundations 
of  that  branch  of  chemical  science  which  deals  with  the  equilibrium,  co-existence 

and  stability  of  chemical   systems,  whether  homogeneous   or  heterogeneous 

Not  only  is  a  large  portion  of  modern  physical  chemistry  built  upon  the  foundation 
here  laid  by  Gibbs,  but  also  many  important  branches  of  applied  physical  chemistry, 
such  as  the  study  of  alloys,  owe  their  very  existence  as  sciences  to  the  work  of  Gibbs.* 

An  even  more  impressive  statement  is  that  of  a  former  student, 
Professor  Bumstead  (Ph.D.  1897),  who  has  said: 

Professor  Gibbs  worked  alone  in  a  field  in  which  he  had  no  rivals  and  no 
helpers;  he  published  practically  all  that  he  had  to  say  upon  the  subject  in  a  single 
paper  of  great  length;  and  there  were  scarcely  any  experiments  to  which  he  could 
look  for  confirmation  or  suggestion  as  to  his  theoretical  conclusions.  Yet  his  very 
numerous  results  were  correct,  were  of  the  highest  importance,  and  were  extremely 
general  in  their  application.  Many  things  which  had  been  mysteries,  and  concerning 
which  our  ignorance  had  been  confessed  by  such  vague  terms  as  "affinity"  or 
"catalytic  action,"  were  in  this  paper  shown  to  be  simple  and  direct  consequences  of 
the  two  laws  of  thermodynamics.  Relations  between  facts  and  laws  of  chemical 
action  were  stated  a  priori  which  have  since  been  verified  by  laborious  and  exact 
experiments ;  and  in  fact  there  is  little  exaggeration,  if  any,  in  the  statement  that 
this  paper  contains,  so  far  as  general  principles  are  concerned,  practically  the  whole 
of  the  science  which  is  now  called  j^hysicai  chemistry  and  which  had  scarcely  been 
begun  when  it  was  written.  Considered  merely  as  an  intellectual  tour  de  force, 
there  are  very  few  chapters  in  the  history  of  science  which  can  be  compared  with 
this ;  as  an  example  of  scientific  prediction  it  is  probably  without  a  rival  in  the 
number  and  complexity  of  the  relations  discovered,  by  a  priori  reasoning,  in  a  science 
essentially  experimental.^ 

5  Encyclopcedia  Britannica,  Vol.  IX,  p.  394. 

6  Professor  Donnan,  of  the  University  of  Liverpool,  quoted  by  Bumstead,  Josiah  Willard 
Gibbs,  p.  10. 

7  Bumstead,  Josiah  Willard  Oibbs,  p.  4. 

[67] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Probably  not  over  one  person  out  of  every  fifty  thousand  in  the 
country  has  read  this  paper,  but  its  influence  on  scientific  research 
has  not  been  exceeded  by  that  of  any  single  American  publication.  It 
can  even  be  compared  in  its  ultimate  effect  on  civilization  with 
important  volumes  in  other  fields  discussed  in  these  pages,  v^^hich  have 
been  read  or  consulted  by  the  hundred  thousand,  such  as  Webster's 
Spelling  Book  and  Dictionary,  and  Kent's  Commentaries  on  Law. 
Its  influence  on  the  leaders  of  the  science  of  physics  in  the  nineteenth 
century  is  comparable  to  that  of  Edwards'  Freedom  of  the  Will  on 
philosophical  and  theological  thought  in  the  eighteenth,  and  its 
permanent  effect  may  be  greater.  Anyone  who  may  doubt  the 
scientific  world's  high  estimate  of  Gibbs'  creative  work  in  this  field 
would  do  well  to  glance  over  the  long  article  on  "Energetics"  in  the 
last  edition  of  the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica. 

There  are  other  branches  in  which  he  achieved  important  results, 
such  as  vector  analysis,  light  waves,  statical  mechanics,  and  the 
electro-magnetic  theory  of  light,  but  we  have  concentrated  attention 
on  his  discoveries  in  thermodynamics,  as  these  represented  his  field 
of  most  far-reaching  achievement,  where  his  efforts  as  a  path  breaker 
were  almost  single-handed.  Here,  although  his  work  was  that  of  a 
mathematician  dealing  with  the  problems  of  physics  and  of  chemistry, 
his  investigations  have  profoundly  affected  the  science  of  mineralogy, 
and  have  had  an  influence  on  such  practical  matters  as  the  constitution 
of  Portland  cement,  and  the  making  of  structural  steel. 

Few  men  have  ever  lived  whose  energy  was  more  absorbed  in 
problems  that  required  close  reasoning.  His  interests  and  recreations 
were  mainly  mathematical,  in  the  broad  sense  of  the  word,  but  he  was 
not  a  narrow  recluse.  He  took  an  interest  in  the  problems  brought 
before  the  College  Facult}^  was  the  successful  treasurer  for  many 
years  of  the  Hopkins  Grammar  School,  was  always  approachable 
to  colleagues  or  students,  was  not  without  a  sense  of  humor,  and,  in 
his  early  days,  took  out  a  patent  for  a  practical  brake  for  railway 

[68] 


Josiah  A\'im,aki)  Gibbs 

Class  of    IS.'iS 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

l'rt>t)at>ly  not  over  one  person  out  of  every  fifty  thousand  in  the 
country  has  read  this  paper,  but  its  influence  on  scientific  research 
has  not  been  exceeded  by  that  of  any  single  American  pul)lieation.  It 
can  even  be  compared  in  its  ultimate  effect  on  civilization  with 
important  volumes  in  other  fields  discussed  in  these  pages,  which  have 
been  read  or  consulted  by  the  hundred  thousand,  such  as  Webster's 
Spelling  Book  and  Dictionary,  and  Kent's  Commentaries  on  Law. 
Its  influence  on  the  leaders  of  the  science  of  physics  in  the  nineteenth 
centurj^  is  comparable  to  that  of  Edwards'  Freedom  of  the  Will  on 
philosophical  and  theological  thought  in  the  eighteenth,  and  its 
permanent  effect  may  be  greater.  Anyone  who  may  doubt  the 
scientific  world's  high  estimate  of  Gibbs'  creative  work  in  this  field 
would  do  well  to  glance  over  the  long  article  on  "Energetics"  in  the 
last  edition  of  the  Encyclopaedia  Britannic  a. 

There  are  other  branches  in  which  he  achieved  important  results, 
such  as  vector  analysis,  light  waves,  statical  mechanics,  and  the 
electro-magnetic  theory  of  light,  but  we  have  concentrated  attention 
on  his  discoveries  in  thermodynamics,  as  these  represented  his  field 
of  most  far-reaching  achievement,  where  his  efforts  as  a  path  breaker 
were  almost  single-handed.  Here,  although  his  work  was  that  of  a 
mathematician  dealing  .ith-lhe  problems  of  physics  and  of  chemistry, 
his  investigations  have  profoundly  affected  the  science  of  mineralogy, 
and  have  had  an  influence  on  such  practical  matters  as  the  constitution 
of  Portland  cement,  and  the  making  of  structural  steel. 

Few  men  have  ever  lived  whose  energy  was  more  absorbed  in 
problems  that  required  close  reasoning.  His  interests  and  recreations 
were  mainly  mathematical,  in  the  broad  sense  of  the  word,  but  he  was 
not  a  narrow  recluse.  He  took  an  interest  in  the  problems  brought 
before  the  College  Faculty,  was  the  successful  treasurer  for  many 
years  of  the  Hopkins  Grammar  School,  was  always  approachable 
to  colleagues  or  student^gg^  WrfA^Y^ti^*H^M5^^  ^^  humor,  and,  in 
his  early  days,  took  out  a  patent  for  a  practical  brake  for  railway 

[68  J 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— JOSIAH  WILLARD  GIBBS 

cars.  In  all  his  dealings  the  calm,  judicious  quality  of  his  mind  was 
evident,  as  well  as  the  inborn  kindness  of  his  heart. 

Such  was  the  career  and  character  of  America's  "leading 
scientist"^  at  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century.  There  is  a  bas-relief 
in  his  honor  in  the  new  Sloane  University  Physics  Laboratory,  and 
a  movement  has  been  started  to  establish  a  Gibbs  Memorial  Fellow- 
ship. The  honors  he  received  are  too  numerous  to  mention  in  full. 
Among  them  were  membership  in  the  most  distinguished  learned 
societies  of  the  world,  honorarj^  degrees  from  Erlangen,  Williams, 
Princeton,  and  Christiania,  and  the  award  of  the  Copley  Medal  from 
the  Royal  Society  of  London. 

The  facts  for  this  biography  have  been  mainly  taken  from  two 
sources:  the  Biographical  Memoir  prepared,  in  1909,  by  Professor 
Hastings  (Ph.B.  1870),  for  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  and 
a  pamphlet  privately  printed,  in  1910,  entitled  Josiah  Willard 
Gibbs — Professor  of  Mathematical  Physics  in  Yale  University 
1871-1903.  This  contains  an  introduction  by  Professor  Henry  A. 
Bumstead  (Ph.D.  1897),  who,  with  Dr.  Ralph  Gibbs  VanName 
(B.A.  1899),  has  edited  The  Scientific  Papers  of  J.  Willard  Gibbs. 

T^       AT     c.  1  July  12  1901 

Dear  Mr.  Stokes 

I  do  not  remember  Rayleigh's  or  Kelvin's  address.  Will  you  send  them 
to  me  here.  If  you  have  not  them  at  hand,  you  can  easily  find  them  in  the 
Report  B.  A.  A.  S.  y^^j.^  faithfully, 

J.  W.  Gibbs. 

This  characteristically  brief  letter  brings  together  the  names  of 
three  of  the  most  eminent  scientists  living  at  the  beginning  of  the 
twentieth  century — Lord  Rayleigh,  Lord  Kelvin,  and  Gibbs.  When 
Kelvin,  in  1902,  received  an  honorary  degree  from  Yale  at  a  special 
convocation,  he  said,  in  the  presence  of  the  author,  that  the  time  would 
come  when  Gibbs  would  be  considered  the  greatest  man  of  science  of 
his  generation. 

8  In  a  letter  of  Professor  Wolcott  Gibbs  of  Harvard,  President  of  the  National  Academy 
of  Sciences,  to  Willard  Gibbs,  in  1902,  he  said:  "Your  position  in  our  country  is  that  of  our 
leading  scientist "    Quoted  in  Bumstead,  Josiah  Willard  Oibbs,  p.  13. 

[69] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Othniel  Charles  Mabsh 
Class  of  1860 

Born,  October  29,  1831;  Died,  March  18,  1899 
Paleontologist 

Professor  Marsh,  the  real  creator  of  the  Peabody  Museum  at 
Yale,  did  more  than  any  of  his  contemporaries  to  make  known  the 
prehistoric  animal  life  on  our  continent/  He  was  born  in  Lockport, 
New  York.  His  parents  had  only  limited  means,  but  his  uncle,  the 
well-known  philanthropist,  Mr.  George  Peabody,  of  London,  offered 
to  help  him  obtain  a  liberal  education.  He  entered  Yale  College  from 
Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  which  has  been  the  preparatory  school 
of  more  of  the  men  whose  biographies  are  given  in  this  book  than 
any  other  institution.  He  was  Valedictorian  at  school,  and  a  high 
stand  man  at  college,  winning  Phi  Beta  Kappa  and  a  Berkeley 
Scholarship.  But  he  was  not  distinguished  in  the  literary  competi- 
tions then  so  prominent  a  feature  at  Yale,  and  in  spite  of  his  High 
Oration  stand,  he  did  not  speak  either  at  the  Junior  Exhibition  or 
at  Commencement.  His  interest  in  natural  science,  especially 
mineralogy,  was  strongly  marked  during  his  college  course.  It  even 
went  back  to  his  boyhood,  and  was  developed  from  his  fondness  for 
the  Hfe  of  forest  and  stream.  Like  some  other  men  of  science,  he 
was  a  sportsman  before  he  was  a  naturalist,  but  during  his  student 
days  he  took  up  science  in  earnest.  On  one  of  his  summer  vacations 
spent  geologizing  in  Nova  Scotia,  he  discovered  the  two  well-known 
vertebrae  of  Eosaurus  Acadianus,  said,  by  a  competent  authority, 
to  have  been  "the  first  remains  of  reptiles  found  in  the  Palseozoic 
rocks  of  America."^  Surely  this  expedition  proved  to  be  both  a 
pleasanter  and  more  useful  way  of  spending  the  three  summer  months 
than  that  followed  by  most  undergraduates. 

iCf.  article  by  George  Bird  Grinnell,  Ph.D.    (B.A.  1870),  in  Popular  Science  Monthly 
for  1878,  p.  613. 
2  Ibid.,  p.  613. 

[70] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— OTHNIEL  CHARLES  MARSH 

He  was  not  a  prominent  man  in  the  life  of  the  undergraduate 
world.  He  lived  off  the  Campus,  and  made  few  intimate  friendships, 
due  largely  to  the  fact  that  he  entered  when  twenty-five  years  of  age, 
thus  making  him  much  older  than  most  members  of  liis  class.  He  was 
respected  by  all,  and  was  known  to  be  a  man  of  high  purpose,  although 
his  classmates  had  no  expectation  that  he  would  distinguish  himself 
in  after  life.    As  one  of  them  writes : 

In  those  days  he  seemed  as  common-place  and  unprophetic  of  future  eminence 
as  did  the  great  majority  of  our  class.  In  fact  it  was  one  of  the  surprises  of  after 
college  life  that  he  rose  to  distinction  in  the  scientific  world.  He  was  generally, 
perhaps  universally  liked,  well  liked  but  not  one  of  those  about  whom  his  fellows 
rallied  and  wearing  a  halo  of  popularity  on  which  legends  might  be  inscribed.^ 

His  college  course  was  followed  by  two  years  of  postgraduate  study 
in  science — especially  chemistry  and  mineralogy — at  Yale,  and  three 
years  in  Germany,  where  his  winters  were  spent  in  hard  work  with 
the  greatest  authorities  in  geology  and  zoology  at  the  universities  of 
Berlin,  Heidelberg,  and  Breslau.  His  summers  were  given  to  Alpine 
exploration  and  to  other  field  work.  His  European  experiences  had 
the  same  stimulating  effect  that  they  always  have  on  the  more 
ambitious  type  of  American  student.  He  returned  to  New  Haven 
in  1866,  to  take  up  with  enthusiasm  the  work  of  the  newly  established 
chair  of  Paleontology.  A  few  months  later  in  the  same  year,  INIr. 
Peabody  presented  to  a  board  of  trustees  the  sum  of  $150,000  "to 
found  and  maintain  a  Museum  of  Natural  History,  especially  in  the 
departments  of  Zoology,  Geology,  and  Mineralog>^  in  connection 
with  Yale  College" — the  terms  of  the  gift  being  suggested  by 
Professor  Marsh,  who  superintended  the  erection  of  the  present 
building.  This  was  completed  in  1876,  and  was  intended  to  be  merely 
the  north  wing  of  a  large  edifice  extending  to  Library  Street. 

In  1870  he  organized  the  first  Yale  scientific  expedition,  and 
thereby  began  the  most  productive  period  of  his  life.  The  party  was 
absent  in  the  Far  West  only  five  months,  but  returned  with  "over 

3  Letter  from  the  Class  Secretary,  Orlando  Leach,  August  25,  1913. 

[71] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

one  hundred  species  of  extinct  vertebrates,  new  to  science,"*  mostly 
found  in  hitherto  unknown  Tertiary  lake-basins.  The  expeditions 
personally  led  by  Marsh,  or  undertaken  by  parties  from  the 
University  under  his  direction,  followed  each  other  in  quick 
succession.  These  often  extended  to  remote  districts  never  before 
visited  by  white  men,  where  much  danger  was  experienced  from 
privation,  hardship,  and  hostile  Indians.  In  the  first  twenty  years 
of  exploration  he  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains  over  twenty  times, 
and  brought  to  light  over  one  thousand  new  specimens  of  extinct 
vertebrates.  These  trips  cost  him  over  one  hundred  thousand  dollars, 
but  they  resulted  in  making  the  Peabody  Museum  a  great  scientific 
storehouse,  which  still  contains  many  hidden  treasures.  The  mounted 
Brontosaurus,  Stegosaurus,  Pteranodon,  and  other  rare  gigantic 
animals  of  prehistoric  ages,  interest  every  New  Haven  schoolboy, 
and  speak  eloquently  of  the  early  life  of  North  America.  The  United 
States  Geological  Survey,  of  which  he  was  Paleontologist  from  1882 
until  his  death,  published  under  his  editorship  richly  illustrated 
volumes  regarding  these  discoveries.  Others  have  been  described  in 
the  American  Journal  of  Science,  and  in  the  Transactions  of  the 
Connecticut  Academy.  It  will  probably  surprise  most  Yale  men 
to  know  that  these  specimens  gathered  by  Professor  Marsh  represent 
one  of  the  most  important  scientific  collections  in  the  world.  Professor 
Huxley,  who  spent  several  days  in  New  Haven  in  1876,  as  Marsh's 
guest,  referred  to  his  collection  of  fossils  in  the  Peabody  Museum, 
as  "worth  all  the  journey  across"  the  ocean,  and  as  "the  most 
wonderful  thing  I  ever  saw."^  He  stated  that  "there  is  no  collection 
of  fossil  vertebrates  in  existence  which  can  be  compared  with  it."" 
The  making  of  this  collection  was  probably  Professor  Marsh's  greatest 
single  contribution  to  science.  The  eminent  English  scientist  also 
acknowledged  his  indebtedness  to  Marsh  for  the  support  which  his 
discoveries  gave  to  evolution,  especially  by  showing  the  genealogy 

*  Grinnell,  in  Popular  Science  Monthly  for  1878,  p.  613. 

6  Life  and  Letters  of  Thomas  Henry  Huxley,  Vol.  I,  p.  496. 

e  Ibid.,  p.  497. 

[72] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— OTHNIEL  CHARLES  MARSH 

of  the  horse  from  "eohippiis,  orohippus"  and  the  rest.  "Your  great 
work,"  he  wrote  in  1876,  "is  the  settlement  of  the  pedigree  of  the 
horse."^  The  collection  from  which  this  first  actual  demonstrable 
proof  of  the  theory  of  evolution  was  made,  may  still  be  seen  in  the 
Peabody  Museum,  together  with  the  important  additions  made  to 
it  by  Professor  Lull,  as  a  result  of  the  Yale  expedition  to  Texas  in 
1912.  Still  more  striking  than  Huxley's  words  is  the  testimony  of 
Charles  Darwin,  who  wrote:  "Your  work  on  these  old  birds,  and 
on  many  fossil  animals  of  North  America,  has  afforded  the  best 
support  to  the  theory  of  evolution  that  has  appeared  within  the  last 
twenty  years."^ 

These  quotations  indicate  the  reasons  for  Marsh's  main  claim  to 
fame — his  genius  for  field  work  in  paleontology.  He  had  the 
scientific  knowledge,  the  indomitable  energj%  the  organizing  ability, 
and  the  intuition,  which  made  him  the  most  successful  discoverer  and 
collector  of  the  remains  of  prehistoric  animal  life  on  the  North 
American  continent.  He  brought  together  at  Yale  University  tons 
and  tons  of  valuable  material,  part  of  which  he  was  able  to  work 
up  himself,  but  much  of  which  still  remains  an  unexplored  field  for 
the  investigators  of  future  generations. 

Professor  Marsh  once  came  to  the  attention  of  the  public  outside 
of  the  field  of  science,  in  a  way  which  reflected  his  independence  of 
character  and  his  citizenship.  On  one  of  his  Western  expeditions — 
that  of  1874  to  the  Bad  Lands  of  Dakota — he  was  driven  back  by 
the  Sioux  Indians,  who  thought  that  he  was  after  gold.  He  finally 
secured  permission  to  continue  on  his  trip  by  agreeing  with  Red  Cloud 
to  take  the  many  complaints  of  his  tribe  to  the  "Great  Father"  at 
Washington.  This  he  did,  exposing  at  the  same  time  the  frauds  which 
he  had  seen  practiced  on  the  Indians  by  government  agents.  A  bitter 
fight  ensued  between  Marsh  and  the  Department  of  the  Interior. 
As  a  result  Marsh  won  and  many  abuses  were  abolished.    Red  Cloud 

7  Ibid.,  p.  497.     For  an  interesting  account  of  the  Yale  collection  of  fossil  horses,  with 
illustrations,  see  Yale  Alumni  Weekly,  Collections  Supplement,  No.  1,  1913. 

8  Appleton,  American  Biography,  Vol.  IV,  p.  218. 

[73] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

showed  his  deep  appreciation.  He  presented  his  friend  with  a  fine 
pipe  and  tobacco  pouch,  and  stated  that  "the  Bone-hunting  chief  was 
the  only  white  man  he  had  seen  who  kept  his  promises."® 

Professor  Marsh  received  many  high  scientific  honors.  He  was 
President  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  from  1883  to  1895, 
and  was  earlier  President  of  the  American  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science.  Heidelberg  gave  him  the  honoraiy  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Philosophy,  and  Harvard  that  of  Doctor  of  Laws.  He 
also  received  the  Bigsby  Medal  of  the  Geological  Society  of  London, 
and  the  Cuvier  Prize  of  the  Institut  de  France.  European  scientists 
appreciated  the  full  significance  of  his  paleontological  work.  A 
member  of  the  Institute,  in  an  announcement  of  his  death,  wrote: 
"Le  nom  de  M.  Marsh  restera  honore  par  tons  ceux  qui  s'interessent 
a  I'histoire  des  etres  des  temps  passes."^" 

No  Yale  alumnus  has  shown  more  devotion  to  the  University. 
He  handed  over  all  of  his  scientific  collections^^  to  its  ownership  in 
1898,  and  by  his  will,  being  a  bachelor,  left  to  it  the  bulk  of  his  large 
estate.  This  included  his  house  and  beautiful  grounds  on  Prospect 
Street,  which  now  form  the  home  of  the  Yale  Forest  School  and  of 
the  Botanical  Garden.  His  portrait  hangs  in  one  of  the  exhibition 
rooms  on  the  second  floor  of  the  JNIuseum,  facing  some  of  the  grim 
monsters  of  past  ages  which  he  brought  to  light  again. 

Professor  Marsh  consecrated  his  powers  and  his  life  to  science  in  his  own 
department  with  even  more  remarkable  devotion  and  persistency,  if  possible,  and 
with  a  yet  more  unbounded  enthusiasm,  than  were  manifested  in  other  lines  of  study 

and  investigation  by  Professor  Loomis  and  Professor  Whitney They  pursued 

the  one  object  which  they  had  in  view  with  all  the  energy  of  their  nature,  subordi- 
nating everything  else  to  its  attainment,  and  finding  their  reward  only  as  they 
advanced  farther  and  yet  farther  towards  it.  Our  University  has  had  a  happy 
fortune  indeed,  in  that  it  has  numbered  so  many  men  of  this  high  order  in  the  circle 
of  its  scholars  and  teachers. ^^ 

9  Grinnell,  in  Popular  Science  Monthly  for  1878,  p.  615.  For  details  see  A  statement  of 
affairs  at  the  Red  Cloud  Agency,  made  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  Yale  College, 
July,  1875. 

loGaudry,  in  La  Nature,  April  8,  1899. 

11  His  successor  at  Yale  both  as  Curator  and  Professor  was  an  eminent  Paleontologist, 
the  late  Charles  Emerson  Beecher  (Ph.D.  1889). 

12  Dwight,  Memories  of  Yale  Life  and  Men,  p.  409. 

[74] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— OTHNIEL  CHARLES  MARSH 

(Copy) 

New  Haven,  June  4th  1873. 
Rev.  Noah  Porter,  LL.D. 
President  of  Yale  College 

To  meet  the  wants  of  the  Museum  before  the  completion  of  the  new 
Building,  I  hereby  offer  to  expend  before  July  1st  1875,  the  sum  of  five 
thousand  dollars  for  the  care  and  increase  of  the  Collections  in  Natural  Science 
&  Archaeology  and  to  give  my  own  services  until  that  time  without  compensa- 
tion, provided  the  college  will  give  an  equal  amount  ($5,000.)  to  be  expended 
under  my  direction  for  the  same  purpose. 

O.  C.  Marsh 

This  is  a  copy  in  Marsh's  handwriting  of  an  official  letter  to 
President  Porter.  The  Corporation  considered  the  proposal,  but 
does  not  seem  to  have  taken  any  formal  action  on  it.  A  year  previous 
it  had  accepted  a  similar  offer  from  Professor  Marsh  of  $3,000.  His 
generous  attitude  towards  the  University  shown  in  this  letter  is  also 
evidenced  by  many  gifts,  by  his  munificent  bequest,  and  by  the  fact 
that  he  gave  his  services  to  Yale  without  compensation  through  all 
the  years  of  his  professorship. 


[75] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Clarence  King 
Class  of  1862  (Sheffield) 

Born,  January  6,  1842;  Died,  December  24,  1901 
Founder  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey 

Clarence  King  was  one  of  the  most  charming  personalities  in 
the  history  of  American  science.  He  showed  that  it  was  possible  to 
be  both  a  scientist  and  a  man  of  broad  literary  culture  —a  combination 
rarely  found  in  these  days.  It  is,  however,  because  of  his  achievement 
in  laying  worthily  the  foundations  of  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey,  in  many  ways  the  most  important  of  the  scientific  activities 
of  the  government,  that  his  biography  is  included  in  this  volume. 

He  was  born  in  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  the  son  and  the  grand- 
son of  distinguished  merchants.  "King  &  Olj^phant"  was  for  two 
generations  a  firm  name  honored  alike  in  America  and  in  China,  where 
most  of  its  shipping  business  was  centered.  He  prepared  for  the 
academic  course  at  Yale,  but  his  strong  interest  in  natural  science 
finally  led  him  into  that  Department  of  the  University  now  known 
as  the  Sheffield  School.  The  Yale  Scientific  School  during  its  early 
years,  when  it  was  mainly  a  place  for  research  work,  attracted  a 
remarkable  group  of  men.  Professor  Dana  and  Professor  Brush, 
and  their  associates,  had  only  a  relatively  small  number  of  students 
at  this  time,  but  among  them  were  Clarence  King,  Othniel 
Marsh  (q.v.),  Arnold  Hague,  and  Samuel  Parsons.  During  his 
course  King  was  a  good  student,  had  a  taste  of  field  work  in  his 
vacations,  derived  an  enthusiasm  for  science  from  his  instructors,  and 
was  prominent  in  the  social  and  athletic  life  of  the  college  community, 
being  stroke  oar  of  one  of  the  crews,  and  captain  of  a  baseball 
team.  A  fellow  geologist  has  given  us  this  vivid  picture  of  King's 
undergraduate  days: 

I  well  remember  him  as  he  was  then,  an  active,  sprightly  youth,  quick  to  observe 
and  apprehend,  full  of  joyous  animation  and  lively  energy,  which  always  made  him 

[76] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— CLARENCE  KING 

a  leader  of  the  front  rank,  whether  in  the  daily  exercises  of  the  classroom  and 
laboratory  or  in  an  impromptu  raid  by  night  on  Hillhouse  Avenue  front  fences, 
with  the  mischievous  purpose  of  lifting  off  and  swapping  around  in  neighborly 
exchange  the  door-yard  gates  of  lawns  and  gardens.  "Off  fences  must  come,"  he 
sometimes  said  of  the  gates,  "but  woe  unto  him  by  whom  they  come — if  found  out."^ 

His  interest  both  in  the  scientific  secrets  of  nature,  and  in  the 
beauty  of  the  natural  world,  was  greatly  stimulated  by  reading  when 
in  college  the  works  of  Tyndall  and  of  Ruskin  on  the  Alps,  and 
accounts  by  Theodore  Winthrop  (q.v.)  and  others  of  the  Far  West. 
A  more  direct  impulse  to  engage  in  field  work  was  given  by  hearing 
the  reading  of  a  letter  to  Professor  Brush,  giving  an  account  of  the 
ascent  of  Mount  Shasta — then  believed  to  be  the  highest  mountain 
in  the  country.^ 

It  is  interesting  in  these  days,  when  a  Sheffield  School  class 
consists  of  over  three  hundred  men  at  graduation,  to  recall  that  King 
was  one  of  only  six  students  who  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Philosophy  in  1862.  This  contrast  is  a  good  commentary  on  the 
growth  of  interest  in  scientific  education  during  the  past  half  century, 
a  growth  which  Yale  has  done  much  to  promote.  Clarence  King 
always  retained  his  interest  in  his  Alma  Mater,  and  once  returned 
for  postgraduate  studies  in  "field  and  practical  astronomy,"  gaining 
knowledge  that  proved  of  value  to  him  in  his  Western  expeditions. 
He  kept  in  close  touch  throughout  life  with  his  old  teachers. 
Professors  Brush,  Brewer,  and  Dana,  and  with  other  New  Haven 
friends,  and,  in  1877,  delivered  before  the  Sheffield  Scientific  School 
an  address  on  "Catastrophism  and  the  Evolution  of  Environment." 

Soon  after  graduation  he  crossed  the  continent  from  the  INIissouri 
River  to  the  coast  on  horseback,  with  another  distinguished  engineer, 
James  T.  Gardiner  (Ph.B.  1868),  and  remained  for  three  years 
engaged  on  the  state  survey  under  Josiah  Dwight  Whitney  (q.v.). 
Most  of  this  time  was  spent  in  the  high  Sierras.  Here  he  made 
paleontological  discoveries  which  supplied  the  evidence  for  deter- 

1  Clarence  King  Memoirs,  p.  378,  quoting  James  D.  Hague. 

2  See  National  Academy  of  Sciences.    Biographical  Memoirs.    Vol.  VI,  p.  31, 

[77] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

mining  the  age  of  gold-bearing  rocks.  His  experiences  gave  him 
much  of  the  material  for  his  Mountaineering  in  the  Sierra  Nevada, 
which  appeared  in  1871,  written  in  a  delightful  style,  and  full  of 
interesting  and  brilliant  descriptions  of  nature  and  of  man.  This 
book,  and  various  magazine  articles,  such  as  his  Helmet  of  Mamhrino, 
show  that  he  could  have  made  his  mark  in  literature  had  it  been  his 
chosen  profession.    It  was  John  Hay  who  said  of  him  that  "If  he  had 

given  himself  to  literature,  he  would  have  been  a  great  writer 

his  mastery  of  the  word,  his  power  of  phrase,  was  almost  unlimited,"' 
and  similarly  William  Dean  Howells  spoke  of  him  as  "an  imaginative 
talent  of  the  first  potentiality."* 

On  his  return  East  he  originated  a  plan  for  a  survey  of  a  strip 
of  territory  extending  one  hundred  miles  on  each  side  of  the  fortieth 
parallel.  The  idea  was  to  map  thoroughly,  indicating  the  natural 
resources  of  that  section  of  the  Western  Cordilleras,  which  was  about 
to  be  opened  up  by  the  transcontinental  railroads.  It  was  a  young 
Yale  man  of  twenty- four  who  conceived  this  idea,  and,  what  was 
even  more  remarkable,  it  was  the  same  young  man  who  persuaded 
the  War  Department  and  Congress  of  the  wisdom  of  backing  up  his 
plan  financially.  In  March,  1867,  King  was  given  charge  of  the 
expedition,  subject  only  to  the  administrative  control  of  General 
Humphreys,  Chief  Engineer  of  the  Army,  who  appreciated  King's 
genius  and  judgment,  and  gave  him  a  free  rein.  The  work  was  to 
be  carried  on  in  the  most  scientific  manner,  but  its  ultimate  purpose 
was  as  broad  as  civilization  itself.  "The  mountains  of  our  great 
vacant  interior  are  not  barren,  but  full  of  wealth;  the  deserts  are  not 
all  desert;  the  vast  plains  will  produce  something  better  than  buffalo, 
namely,  beef;  there  is  water  for  irrigation,  and  land  fit  to  receive  it. 
All  that  is  needed  is  to  explore  and  declare  the  nature  of  the  national 
domain."^  King  showed  that  he  not  only  had  the  vision  to  see  this, 
but  the  power  to  convince  others  of  the  truth  of  his  ideas.    He  selected 

3  Clarence  King  Memoirs,  p.  126. 

<  Ibid.,  p.  154. 

5  See  Rossiter  Raymond,  Biographical  Notice  of  Clarence  King,  pp.  13,  14. 

[78] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— CLARENCE  KING 

his  own  staff,  and  prosecuted  the  work  with  vigor.  The  field  surveys 
were  finished  in  1872,  and  the  last  of  the  nine  volumes — including 
two  atlases — was  published  six  years  later.  The  entire  work — one 
of  the  greatest  and  most  difficult  in  the  history  of  topographical 
exploration — was  completed,  in  standard  form,  in  slightly  over  a 
decade.  The  first  volume.  Systematic  Geology,  was  written  by  King 
himself.  The  entire  report,  issued  modestly  as  Professional  Papers 
of  the  Engineers  Department,  U.  S.  Ariny,  was  of  inestimable  value 
to  railroad  builders,  mining  engineers,  and  others  who  were  laying 
the  foundations  of  Western  development.  Some  idea  of  the  impor- 
tance of  this  work  in  the  history  of  science  may  be  derived  from  the 
following  summary : 

Aside  from  the  direct  contributions  to  science  embodied  in  the  seven  quarto 
volumes  that  contained  the  published  results  of  this  great  survey,  King  exerted  a 
most  important  influence  upon  geological  work  in  this  country  by  the  high  standards 
he  set  for  it  and  his  practical  demonstration  of  the  possibility  of  living  up  to  them. 
Thus  a  topographic  survey  which  should  afford  an  accurate  delineation  of  the  relief 
of  a  country  had  not  hitherto  been  considered  a  necessary  base  for  geological 
mapping  either  in  State  or  government  surveys.  A  system  of  rapid  surveying  by 
triangulation  and  the  use  of  contours  to  express  relief  was  first  employed  by  him 
in  making  maps  of  large  areas,  and  inaugurated  an  improvement  in  our  systems 
of  cartography  that  has  made  the  maps  issued  by  our  government  superior  to  any 
in  the  world.  He  demonstrated  the  importance  of  the  general  use  of  photography 
as  an  adjunct  to  geology,  which  previously  had  not  been  considered  practicable 
because  of  the  labor  and  expense  involved  in  transporting  the  necessary  apparatus 
for  the  developing  of  wet  plates  in  the  field.  Of  even  greater  moment  was  the 
practical  introduction  of  the  methods  of  microscopical  petrography,  supplemented 
by  chemical  analysis,  in  the  examination  of  rocks — an  innovation  which  marked  the 
opening  of  a  new  era  in  geological  study  in  the  United  States.® 

Immediately  after  he  had  finished  the  publication  of  these 
reports,  an  opportunity  came  to  him  to  render  even  more  important 
national  service.  He  suggested  the  consolidation  of  the  various 
surveys  then  being  conducted  by  different  departments  of  the  govern- 
ment. There  was  great  danger  of  conflict  of  interest,  and  of  lack 
of  unity  of  plan.  As  one  intimate  with  the  situation  has  said,  "It 
was  mainly  through  King's  influence  among  the  leading  scientific 

^National  Academy  of  Sciences.     Biographical  Memoirs.    Vol.  VI,  p.  42. 

[79] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

men  of  the  country  and  his  tactful  management  of  affairs  in  Congress 
that  this  crisis  was  averted."^  Congress  adopted  March  3,  1879, 
on  the  recommendation  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  a  plan 
outlined  b}'-  King,  establishing  the  United  States  Geological  Survey 
as  a  bureau  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior.  He  was  appointed 
the  first  Director,  and  accepted  the  position  only  with  the  under- 
standing that  he  could  withdraw  after  the  work  had  been  thoroughly 
organized  and  efficiently  started.  This  took  him  two  years.  "Brief 
as  was  the  duration  of  his  administration,  his  influence,  being 
exercised  at  the  critical  period  of  the  Survey's  existence,  left  a  lasting 
impress  upon  it.  He  outlined  the  broad  general  principles  upon 
which  its  work  should  be  conducted,  and  its  subsequent  success  has 
been  in  a  great  measure  dependent  upon  the  faithfulness  with  which 
these  principles  have  been  followed  by  his  successors."^  The 
Geological  Survey  has  been  generally  considered  the  most  valuable 
scientific  activity  of  the  federal  government.  It  owes  much  to  the 
man  who  first  conceived  it,  organized  it,  and  secured  for  it  the 
generous  support  of  Congress.  But  perhaps  his  greatest  service  was 
in  attracting  into  government  employ  the  men  who  were  to  complete 
the  work  he  had  begun  in  the  "40th  Parallel"  and  the  United  States 
Geological  Surveys.  By  his  high  scientific  standards,  his  good  judg- 
ment of  men,  and  his  charming  personality  he  drew  about  him  a 
remarkable  group  of  co-workers  who  shared  his  enthusiasm  and  his 
ideals. 

During  his  later  years  he  devoted  his  time  mainly  to  special 
geological  investigations  and  to  literary  pursuits.  He  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  and  received  the 
honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  from  Brown  University. 
Clarence  King  represented  the  highest  type  of  educated  citizenship — 
that  of  a  man  of  thorough  training,  broad  culture,  incorruptible 
integrity,  and  large  imagination,  who  gave  the  best  years  of  his  life 

7  Samuel  F.  Emmons,  quoted  by  Rajinond,  Biographical  Notice  of  Clarence  King,  p.  19. 

8  Raymond,  Biographical  Notice  of  Clarence  King,  p.  20. 

[80] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— CLARENCE  KING 

to  the  public  service.^  He  had  the  brains  and  the  will  both  to  plan 
and  to  execute  large  things.  His  monuments  are  the  Reports  of  the 
Fortieth  Parallel  Survey,  and  the  work  of  the  United  States 
Geological  Survey,  which  has  rendered  all-important  service  in  its 
own  field,  and  has  set  the  standard  for  the  other  scientific  departments 
at  Washington. 

He  was  a  man  of  extraordinary  capacity  for  friendship,  who 
appeared  at  his  best  at  the  Century  Club,  where  the  excellence  of  the 
company  drew  out  all  that  was  most  attractive  and  most  brilliant 
in  him.    Here  is  the  tribute  of  the  Club's  necrologist : 

He  was  himself  a  blend  of  varied  qualities  and  gifts  that  were  not  always  ready 
to  keep  the  peace  one  with  another,  but  the  collective  manifestation  of  which  was  to 
his  fellows  a  constant  joy.  The  talk  he  made  or  evoked  may  be  equaled  by  those 
who  are  to  come  after ;  it  can  never  be  matched.  Its  range  was  literally  incalculable. 
It  was  impossible  to  foresee  at  what  point  his  tangential  fancy  would  change  its 
course.  From  the  true  rhythm  of  Creole  gumbo  to  the  verse  of  Theocritus,  from 
the  origin  of  the  latest  mot  to  the  age  of  the  globe,  from  the  soar  or  slump  of  the 
day's  market  to  the  method  of  Lippo  Lippi,  from  the  lightest  play  on  words  to 
the  subtlest  philosophy,  he  passed  with  buoyant  step  and  head  erect,  sometimes  with 
audacity  that  invited  disaster,  often  with  profound  penetration  and  with  the 
informing  flash  of  genius.  It  is  but  a  suggestion  of  his  rare  equipment  to  say  that 
in  his  talk,  as  in  his  work,  his  imagination  was  his  dominant,  at  moments  his 
dominating  quality.  Intense,  restless,  wide-seeing,  nourished  by  much  reading, 
trained  in  the  exercise  of  an  exact  and  exacting  profession,  stimulated  by  commerce 
with  many  lands  and  races,  it  played  incessantly  on  the  topic  of  the  moment  and 
on  the  remotest  and  most  complex  problems  of  the  earth  and  the  dwellers  thereon. 
And  within  a  nature  brilliant  and  efficient  beyond  all  common  limits  glowed  the 
modest  and  steady  light  of  a  kindness  the  most  unfailing  and  delicate.  The  good 
one  hand  did  he  let  not  the  other  know;  both  were  always  busy,  laying  in  many 
lives  the  foundations  of  tender  and  lasting  remembrance.^^ 

An  excellent  picture  of  his  work  and  personality  may  be  derived 
from  Clarence  King  Memoirs,  published  for  the  King  Memorial 
Committee  of  the  Century  Association.  The  list  of  contributors  is 
of  itself  significant,  including  John  Hay,  John  LaFarge,  William 
Dean  Howells,  Edmund  Clarence  Stedman,  James  D.  Hague,  and 

9  A  good  incidental  example  was  his  successful  exposure  of  the  fraudulent  diamond  fields, 
in  1872. 

10  Quoted  in  National  Academy  of  Sciences.    Biographical  Memoirs.     Vol.  VI,  p.  53. 

[81] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

others  prominent  in  the  world  of  art,  letters,  and  science — three  fields 
in  which  King  was  almost  equally  at  home.  The  Biographical 
Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  and  of  the  American 
Institute  of  Mining  Engineers  are  also  valuable. 


New  York  Nov  2^ 
[1869  ?] 
Dear  Professor  Brush 

Providence  and  my  tailor  permitting  I  shall  spend  a  day  in  New  Haven 
within  a  week.  I  shall  be  able  to  assure  you  of  the  entire  honest  success  of 
my  40**^  Parallel  operations.  A  pretty  bitter  campaign  lies  before  me  in 
Washington  on  which  I  will  take  moral  bets  freely.  Gardner  and  his  specimen 
are  expected  here  Wednesday.  She  is  as  charming  a  little  recent  vertebrate 
as  was  ever  collected.  Please  remind  my  friends  who  I  am  that  they  may  not 
show  any  awkward  surprise  when  I  turn  up. 

Sincerely  Yours 

Clarence  King. 

The  penciled  date  at  the  top — 1869 — was  the  addition  of  George 
Jarvis  Brush  (Ph.B.  1852),  to  whom  the  letter  was  addressed.  He 
had  been  King's  teacher,  and  a  feeling  of  warm  respect  and  friendship 
had  grown  up  between  them.  When  Professor  Brush  handed  this 
letter  to  the  editor  of  this  book  he  remarked  emphatically,  "King  was 
the  greatest  graduate  of  the  Sheffield  Scientific  School."  The 
Fortieth  Parallel  Survey  was  begun  in  1867.  His  distinguished 
instructor  always  waxed  eloquent  when  he  referred  to  its  significance 
in  the  history  of  American  science  and  of  Western  development. 
The  letter  shows  in  a  characteristic  way  its  author's  light  touch. 


[82] 


III.     SUPPLEMENTARY  NAMES 


Mason  Fitch  Cogswell  (Class  of  1780),  Born,  1761;  Died,  1830. 

He  was  Valedictorian  of  his  class,  although  its  youngest  member.  After 
studying  medicine  in  New  York,  he  settled  in  Hartford,  where  he  became  an 
eminent  surgeon,  and  held  for  ten  years  the  presidency  of  the  Connecticut 
Medical  Society.  He  introduced  into  America  the  operation  for  removing  the 
cataract  from  the  eye,  and  was  the  first  to  tie  the  carotid  artery.  The  fact 
that  his  daughter  became  deaf  and  dumb  was  responsible  for  the  leading  part 
which  he  played  in  establishing  in  Hartford  the  first  asylum  for  mutes  in 
the  country.  He  was  a  cultured  gentleman  of  the  old  school,  intimate  with 
the  "Hartford  Wits,"  and  wore  to  the  last  knee  breeches  and  silk  stockings. 

He  writes  to  Colonel  Samuel  Huntington  under  date  of  January  11,  1796, 
sympathizing  with  him  in  the  death  of  his  uncle,  the  eminent  President  of  the 
Continental  Congress,  who  had  adopted  both  Cogswell  and  his  nephew  Samuel, 
and  had  sent  them  to  Yale  College.  "I  beg  leave  to  mingle  with  yours  my 
tenderest  sympathies — ^You  have  only  to  imitate  his  virtues  to  be  beloved, 
honored  &  respected." 


Alexander  Hodgson  Stevens  (Class  of  1807),  Born,  1789;  Died,  1869. 

Dr.  Stevens  always  felt  under  special  obligations  to  President  Dwight 
and  to  Professor  Silliman  for  their  influence  upon  him  as  an  undergraduate. 
He  was  a  high  scholar,  and,  after  medical  studies  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia, 
went  to  Europe  to  secure  a  thorough  surgical  training.  He  was  Professor 
of  the  Principles  and  Practice  of  Surgery  in  the  University  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  President  of  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  and  of  the 
American  Medical  Association.  He  is  specially  remembered  for  being  one  of 
the  first  to  introduce  into  America  clinical  hospital  instruction  of  the  European 
type.  He  was  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  American  surgeons  of  his  generation. 
His  reputation  was  shown  by  his  being  chosen  to  respond  to  the  toast,  "The 
Alumni  of  the  Medical  Profession,"  at  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
founding  of  the  College. 

A  letter  is  added,  addressed,  in  1847,  to  Professor  Samuel  Henry  Dickson, 
a  fellow  Yalensian  (B.A.  1814),  who  did  yeoman's  service  in  improving  medical 

[83] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

education  in  Charleston,  Philadelphia,  and  New  York.  In  this  work  Dr. 
Stevens  was  a  national  leader.  He  writes  urging  his  friend  to  "attend  the 
convention  in  Philadelphia  on  the  subject  of  Medical  Education.  It  is  very 
important  that  high  minded  men  should  be  there  to  give  if  possible  a  proper 
direction  to  its  proceedings.  There  will  be  I  doubt  not  much  narrowness  of 
views  among  some  parties  &  if  such  views  predominate  we  must  give  up  for  a 
long  time  all  hope  of  elevating  the  profession." 


Alexander  Metcalf  Fisher  (Class  of  1813),  Born,  1794;  Died,  1822. 

Few  men  ever  graduated  from  Yale  of  the  intellectual  promise  of  Alexander 
Metcalf  Fisher.  The  testimony  of  his  instructors  and  fellow  students  on  this 
point  is  overwhelming  and  convincing.  No  one  was  surprised  when  he  was 
advanced  to  the  professorship  of  Mathematics  and  Natural  Philosophy  when 
only  twenty-five.  Professor  Silliman's  estimate  may  be  taken  as  representative : 
"I  can  truly  say  that  Mr.  Fisher  was  the  most  extraordinary  man  of  his  years 

whom   I  have   ever   known Acquisitions    equal   to   his    at   the    age   of 

twenty-eight  I  have  never  seen,  nor  a  more  vigorous  or  acute  intellect  at  any 
age.'"  Some  of  his  most  brilliant  mathematical  and  astronomical  papers  were 
published  in  Silliman's  Journal.  He  lost  his  life  at  the  early  age  of  twenty- 
eight  through  the  shipwreck  of  the  "Albion"  off  the  Irish  Coast. 

The  autograph  consists  of  a  sheet  of  reflections  on  the  end  of  the  world 
and  on  the  last  judgment. 


Denison  Olmsted  (Class  of  1813),  Born,  1791 ;  Died,  1859. 

Olmsted  has  left  an  entertaining  account  of  his  early  college  experiences. 
He  was  unceremoniously  taken  to  the  room  of  a  Senior  and  given  the  customary 
"lecture"  on  manners,  study,  tobacco  smoking,  etc.  The  chairman  of  the 
meeting  stated  that  its  purpose  was  "to  give  the  young  man  the  advise  which 
he  seemed  so  much  to  need."     Bagg  gives  the  full  account.^ 

In  1817  he  was  called  to  the  professorship  of  Chemistry,  Mineralogy,  and 
Geology  in  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  where  he  proposed  and  carried 
out  the  first  state  geological  survey  undertaken  in  America.  In  1825  he 
entered  upon  his  duties  as  Professor  of  Mathematics  and  Natural  Philosophy 
at  Yale,  and  continued  at  the  University  for  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He 
wrote  many  text  books — of  which  two  hundred  thousand  were  sold.     He  was  an 

1  Professor  Newton  in  Kingsley,  Yale  College,  Vol.  I,  p.  230.    See  also  Ibid.,  Vol.  I,  p.  344. 

2  Bagg,  Four  Years  at  Yale,  pp.  284-286. 

[84]     ■ 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— SUPPLEMENTARY  NAMES 

authority  on  shooting  stars,  and  the  teacher  of  a  brilliant  group  of  men  who 
made  Yale  famous  in  astronomy  all  through  the  middle  of  the  last  century. 
He  and  Professor  Loomis  were  the  first  Americans  to  observe  Halley's  comet, 
in  1835.  This  was  seen  with  the  Clark  telescope  from  the  tower  of  old 
Athenagum,  just  south  of  Connecticut  Hall,  weeks  before  word  was  received 
of  its  being  observed  in  Europe. 

The    autograph    collection    contains    a    letter    from    Professor    Olmsted 
written  to  his  publisher  in  1841. 


Jared  Potter  Kirtland  (Class  of  1815),  Born,  1793;  Died,  1877. 

Dr.  Kirtland  was  graduated  from  the  Yale  Medical  School,  being  one  of 
its  first  matriculants.  He  derived  special  benefit  from  the  instruction  of 
Professor  Silliman.  "To  him  I  feel  that  a  heavy  debt  of  gratitude  is  due  from 
me.  In  the  autumn  of  1813,  I  commenced  attending  his  chemical  and 
mineralogical  lectures  in  New  Haven,  and  they  awakened  a  taste  for  scientific 
investigations  which  have  afforded  the  larger  share  of  my  enjoyments  and  pleas- 
ure through  life."^  Although  a  practicing  physician  of  broad  reputation,  and 
in  turn  Professor  of  Medicine  in  Cincinnati  and  Cleveland,  Dr.  Kirtland's  great- 
est influence  was  in  the  field  of  the  natural  sciences.  His  investigations,  espe- 
cially "his  discovery  of  the  sexual  difference  in  the  naiades  in  which  he  showed 
that  the  male  and  female  could  be  distinguished  by  the  forms  of  the  shells  as  well 
as  by  their  internal  anatomy,"*  earned  him  an  early  election  as  a  National 
Academician.  His  influence  in  improving  agricultural  and  horticultural 
conditions  was  broadly  felt  throughout  the  Northwestern  states.  Kirtland 
Hall  in  the  Sheffield  Scientific  School  was  named  after  him. 

A  manuscript  page  from  his  medical  lectures  and  a  signature  are  shown 
in  the  autograph  collection. 


William  Starling  Sullivant  (Class  of  1823),  Born,  1803;  Died,  1873. 

Sullivant  as  an  undergraduate  was  a  class  leader,  being  selected  as  the 
College  Bully.  Bullyism  was  then  at  its  height,  having  arisen  early  in  the 
century  in  the  fights  between  students  and  the  rougher  clement  in  the  city. 
The  Bully,  whose  badge  of  office  was  the  "bully  club,"  was  originally  the  college 
champion  in  Town  and  Gown  troubles,  but  he  later  became  also  the  moderator 

8  Fisher,  Life  of  Benjamin  Silliman,  Vol.  II,  p.  282. 
4  Appleton,  American  Biography,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  558. 

[85] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

at  student  meetings.  He  was  generally  a  man  who  combined  physical  strength 
with  power  of  leadership  among  men.  It  is  worth  noting  that  of  the  thirty- 
seven^  known  college  bullies,  Sullivant  is  the  only  one  to  gain  a  place  in  this 
volume,  although  W.  M.  Evarts  (q.v.)  was  a  "minor  bully."  He  spent  the 
early  years  after  graduation  as  a  surveyor  and  practical  engineer.  He  made 
his  scientific  reputation  in  a  very  narrow  field — the  study  of  mosses — bryology. 
Here  he  was  beyond  question  the  highest  American  authority,  and  held  an 
international  reputation  among  botanists.*'  His  learned  books  have  such 
exciting  titles  as  Musci  Alleghanienses  and  I  cones  Muscorum.  He  was  elected 
to  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences.  Professor  Asa  Gray  of  Harvard 
referring  to  his  death  said :     "In  him  we  lose  the  most  accomplished  bryologist 

which  this  country  has  produced "^ 

The  engraving  accompanying  his  autograph  signature  reflects  his  strong 
intellectual  and  moral  qualities. 


Edward  Hitchcock  (Class  of  1825-1826),  Born,  1793;  Died,  1864. 

President  Hitchcock  was  not  a  college  graduate,  but  like  several  other 
eminent  men  of  science  of  his  generation,  he  secured  his  only  university  train- 
ing at  Yale.  He  refers  in  his  autobiography  to  "Prof.  Silliman,  by  whose 
kindness  and  instruction  my  sojourn  there  was  made  most  profitable,"^  and 
in  a  letter  written  in  his  old  age  to  this  same  Yale  teacher,  he  says :  "Certain 
it  is  that  your  instruction  and  encouragement  and  example  have  had  more 
influence  upon  me  to  make  me  what  I  have  been,  than  those  of  any  other  man."® 
His  studies  also  included  some  work  in  the  theological  school  under  Professor 
Taylor.  Professor  Silliman  became  interested  in  him  while  he  was  a  teacher 
in  Deerfield,  Massachusetts,  and,  because  of  his  scientific  work,  secured  for 
him  the  honorary  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  from  Yale.  Silliman  states :  "I 
then  invited  Mr.  Hitchcock  to  visit  me  in  New  Haven.  The  invitation  was 
accepted,  and  for  a  series  of  years  he  was  often  here,  and  attended  all  the 

courses  of  lectures  with  more  or  less   regularity His   starting  point 

was  with  us,  and  we  may  regard  him  as  a  pupil  of  our  scientific  departments."^" 

After  a  few  years'  service  as  pastor  of  a  Congregational  church,  he  was 
chosen  Professor  of  Chemistry  and  Natural  History  at  Amherst  College,  of 

5  Kingsley,  Yale  College,  Vol.  II,  p.  477. 

6  Other  Yale  graduates  who  have  made  important  contributions  to  botany  are  Manasseh 
Cutler  (q.v.);  Stephen  Elliott  (B.A.  1791);  Eli  Ives  (B.A.  1799);  Samuel  Kirtland  (q.v.); 
Sereno  Watson  (B.A.  1847) ;  and  Daniel  Cady  Eaton  (B.A.  1857). 

''National  Academy  of  Sciences.    Biographical  Memoirs.     Vol.  I,  p.  279. 

8  Hitchcock,  Reminiscences  of  Amherst  College,  p.  288. 

9  Fisher,  Life  of  Benjamin  Silliman,  Vol.  II,  p.  306. 

10  Ibid.,  Vol.  I,  pp.  302-303. 

[86] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— SUPPLEMENTARY  NAMES 

which  he  became  President  in  1845.  Dr.  Hitchcock's  life  was  one  of  ceaseless 
activity.  He  taught,  preached,  conducted  the  Massachusetts  geological  survey, 
as  well  as  surveys  in  other  states,  administered  the  affairs  of  his  college  with 
noteworthy  success,  served  on  the  state  board  of  agriculture,  and  wrote  books 
on  scientific,  religious,  historical,  and  sociological  subjects.  His  eminence 
as  a  geologist  is  shown  by  his  being  one  of  the  original  members  of  the  National 
Academy,  and  by  his  election  as  first  President  of  the  American  Association 
of  Geologists  and  Naturalists. 

The  letter,  written  from  Amherst  in  December,  1836,  is  of  much  autobio- 
graphic value  for  its  scientific  references.  Especially  interesting  is  this 
statement  regarding  that  branch  of  paleontology  in  which  President  Hitchcock 
was  most  famous: 

I  have  made  great  discoveries  this  fall  among  the  bird  tracks.  In  memoir  last 
year  I  described  only  seven  species,  but  in  an  article  which  I  sent  off  today  for  the 
American  Journal  of  Science  I  have  described  eleven  new  species,  &  some  of  them 
very  peculiar — what  think  you  of  a  bird  track  14  inches  long  with  a  heel  larger  than 
the  foot  of  a  horse  &  with  a  spur  upon  it  three  inches  long!  Yet  such  a  specimen 
is  before  me. 

In  this  connection  a  statement  of  his  biographer  is  of  interest : 

No  controversies  will  ever  avail  to  divorce  the  name  of  Edward  Hitchcock  from 
that  of  Ornithichnology.  His  name  has  become  itself  an  imprint — not  a  bird-track, 
but  a  bard-track — upon  the  rock.  Sedgwick  and  the  Cambrians,  Murchison  and  the 
Silurians,  Hugh  Miller  and  the  Devonians,  Rogers  and  the  Appalachians,  Lyell  and 
the  Tertiaries,  are  not  more  household  terms  in  the  history  of  our  science,  than  is 
"Hitchcock  and  the  New  Red  Sandstone"  of  the  Connecticut  River  Valley,  with  its 
beautiful  trap  ranges,  Mount  Tom,  Mount  Holyoke,  and  the  rest  of  them.^^ 


Ebenezer  Porter  Mason  (Class  of  1839),  Born,  1819;  Died,  1840. 

Mason  ranks  with  Alexander  M.  Fisher  (q.v.)  as  a  youthful  genius.  He 
died  when  twenty-one,  the  year  after  graduation,  yet  he  created  an  astonishing 
impression  among  his  contemporaries,  who  likened  his  powers  to  those  of  the 
greatest  names  in  science.  He  secured  the  special  admiration  of  Sir  John 
Herschel  for  his  paper,  Observations  on  Nebula.  His  Life  and  Writings,  by 
Professor  Olmsted,  gives  an  interesting  picture  of  his  precocity.  The  book, 
to  quote  the  title,  is  "interspersed  with  hints  to  Parents  and  Instructors  on 
the  training  and  education  of  a  Child  of  Genius."  Mason's  reputation 
attracted  Joseph  Stillman  Hubbard  (B.A.  1843)  and  other  well-known 
astronomers  to  Yale. 

"i^^  National  Academy  of  Sciences.    Biographical  Memoirs.    Vol.  I,  p,  121. 

[87] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

He  combined  extraordinary  scientific  powers  of  mind  with  a  poetic  tem- 
perament, his  published  literary  work  as  an  undergraduate  being  largely 
poetry.  The  lines  "To  a  Rosebud,"  and  "The  Ties  that  bind  us  here  are 
breaking,"  which  appear  without  name  in  the  Yale  Literary  Magazine,  were 
from  his  pen. 

A  page  of  astronomical  calculations  in  Mason's  handwriting  takes  the 
place  of  the  usual  autograph  letter  in  the  collection. 


John  Pitkin  Norton  (Class  of  1840-1843),  Born,  1822;  Died,  1852. 

Professor  Norton  pursued  his  scientific  studies  for  three  years  at  Yale 
under  the  Sillimans,  father  and  son.  He  resolved  to  be  a  teacher  of  agricul- 
tural chemistry,  and  spent  three  years  preparing  himself  abroad,  at  Edin- 
burgh and  Utrecht.  During  this  period  he  won  a  prize  of  fifty  guineas  from 
the  Highland  Agricultural  Society  for  an  essay  on  the  Oat  Plant.  In  1846 
Yale  established  the  first  university  professorship  of  Agricultural  Chemistry 
in  America,  and  Norton  was  chosen  to  fill  it.  The  "Yale  Analytical  Labora- 
tory," from  which  the  Scientific  School  was  developed,  was  started  in  the  old 
president's  house  on  College  Street.  The  first  reference  to  it  in  the  Yale 
Catalogue  is  in  1847:  "Professors  Silliman  and  Norton  have  opened  a  labora- 
tory on  the  College  grounds  for  the  purpose  of  practical  instruction  in  the 
application  of  science  to  the  arts  and  agriculture." 

Norton  was  an  enthusiastic  teacher,  who  drew  to  his  lectures  men  like 
Samuel  William  Johnson  (q.v.),  the  founder  of  the  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station  movement,  and  Frederick  Law  Olmsted  (q.v.),  the  landscape  architect. 
He  died  at  the  age  of  thirty,  but  he  had  started  a  new  branch  of  study  in 
America,  and  it  is  not  inappropriate  that  his  profile  should  have  been  selected 
to  adorn  one  of  the  bronze  doors  of  the  new  Department  of  Agriculture 
building  at  Washington. 

Yale's  classic  halls, 
In  all  their  ancient  pride,  remember  him; 
While,  neath  their  dome,  a  thoughtful  student  band 
Who  duly  listened  to  his  treasured  lore. 
Lament  their  Teacher.^^ 

His  autograph  is  added,  dated  "Analytical  Laboratory  Yale  College 
March  21st  1850." 

12  From  Verses  "On   the  death   of  Professor  John   Pitkin   Norton,"   Memorials   of  John 
Pitkin  Norton,  p.  84. 

[88] 


MEN  OF  SCIENCE— SUPPLEMENTARY  NAMES 

Thomas  Sterry  Hunt  (Class  of  1845-1846),  Born,  1826;  Died,  1892. 

The  case  of  Hunt  is  something  like  that  of  Edward  Hitchcock.  He 
spent  two  years  in  Silliman's  Laboratory,  and  received  all  of  his  collegiate 
training  at  the  University,  but  it  was  before  the  day  of  degrees  in  science,  so 
his  name  does  not  appear  in  the  published  list  of  Yale  alumni.  He  was  born 
in  Norwich,  Connecticut,  but  soon  after  leaving  New  Haven  moved  to  Canada, 
to  become  Chemist  and  Mineralogist  on  the  Canadian  Geological  Survey,  for 
which  he  did  some  of  his  most  important  work.  Later  he  held  professorships 
at  Laval  University,  McGill,  and  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology. 
He  made  an  international  reputation  in  the  fields  of  chemical  mineralogy  and 
chemical  geology.  He  combined  to  a  rare  degree  the  qualifications  of  an 
expert  geologist,  and  of  a  philosophical  student  of  scientific  problems.  His 
high  standing  is  shown  by  his  membership  in  the  National  Academy,  the  Royal 
Academy  of  London,  and  the  Royal  Society  of  Canada,  of  which  he  was 
President. 

The  letter  was  written  from  Quebec,  in  1861,  to  his  old  Yale  teacher. 
Professor  Benjamin  Silliman,  Jr.,  and  shows  a  warm  friendship  for  Silliman, 
Brush,  "&  all  my  friends"  in  New  Haven.  He  forwards  an  article  "on  the 
Taconic  System"  for  the  American  Journal  of  Science,  to  which  he  was  a 
frequent  contributor.  He  thinks  the  paper  will  be  "a  satisfactory  settlement 
of  the  question"  and  gossips  about  the  latest  doings  of  men  of  science. 


William  Henry  Brewer  (Class  of  1852),  Born,  1828;  Died,  1910. 

Professor  Brewer  was  one  of  that  remarkable  group  of  three  men,  all 
recently  deceased,  whose  names  head  the  list  of  graduates  of  the  Scientific 
School.  William  Phipps  Blake,  Professor  of  Geology  at  the  College  of  Cali- 
fornia and  at  the  University  of  Arizona,  and  George  Jarvis  Brush,^^  miner- 
alogist and  Director  of  the  Sheffield  Scientific  School,  were  the  others.  The 
three  made  a  noble  picture  in  the  well-known  group  taken  on  the  semi-centennial 
anniversary  of  their  graduation. 

Professor  Brewer  served  under  Whitney  (q.v.)  in  the  geographical  survey 
of  California.  From  1864  until  his  death  he  was  Professor  of  Agriculture  in 
the  Sheffield  Scientific  School.  He  was  a  member  of  the  National  Academy,  and 
perhaps  the  last  of  the  old-time  scientists,  who  embraced  most  of  nature  in 
their  field  of  study.  Heredity,  arctic  exploration,  mineralogy,  geology,  chem- 
istry,  surveying,   public   hygiene,   botany,   and   agriculture,   were   among   the 

13  Professor  Brush's  death,  being  after  the  publication  of  the  1910  Quinquennial  Catalogue, 
was  too  recent  to  allow  the  separate  inclusion  of  his  name  in  these  biographies.    See  Preface. 

[89] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

subjects  to  which  he  had  given  much  study.  He  was  interested  in  everything, 
and  was  constantly  making  jottings  of  his  thoughts  and  observations,  even 
when  walking.  The  ovation  given  him  in  1903,  when  he  received  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Laws  from  Yale,  showed  the  unusual  place  which  he  held  in  the 
affections  of  his  old  students. 

The  letter  in  the  Memorial  Hall  collection  is  a  most  interesting  one  written 
to  his  classmate.  Professor  Brush,  in  January,  1864,  from  California.  "I  had 
a  glorious  summers  work,  crossed  the  Sierras  at  nearly  a  dozen  points,  measured 

many  high  peaks  and  passes,  had  a  grand  time  but  a  rough  one I  took 

King  [q.v.]  with  me  on  trip,  he  is  a  good  fellow,  tough,  but  dont  like  to  do 
unpleasant  work — yet  I  like  him — " 


[90] 


CHAPTER  VI 

INVENTORS  AND  ARTISTS 

I.     THE  UNIVERSITY'S  CONTRIBUTION  TO  INVENTION  AND  ART 

In  the  New  York  University  Hall  of  Fame  only  three  American 
inventors  are  recognized — Fulton,  Morse,  and  Whitney.  The  first 
was  not  a  college  man,  although  Yale  contributed  indirectly  to  his 
success  and  reputation.  The  others  were  both  Yale  Bachelors  of 
Arts.  The  University  influenced  Fulton  through  two  graduates, 
whose  biographies  may  be  found  in  this  volume:  David  Bushnell 
(B.A.  1775),  who  gave  him  his  ideas  of  submarine  navigation  and  of 
the  use  of  torpedoes  in  offensive  warfare,  and  Joel  Barlow  (B.A. 
1778) ,  with  whom  he  lived  in  Paris,  and  from  whom  he  received  much 
appreciated  help  and  encouragement  in  his  work.  To  have  given  the 
higher  education  to  two  out  of  three  of  America's  greatest  inventors, 
and  to  have  aided  the  third,  is  an  achievement  worthy  of  record. 

If  another  inventor  were  to  be  added,  and  if  the  criteria  were 
brilliancy  of  creative  imagination  and  mechanical  skill,  Yale's  little- 
known  David  Bushnell  (B.A.  1775),  who  devised  the  submarine  and 
the  torpedo,  might  well  be  named,  or  if  ingenuity  as  applied  to  one 
of  civilization's  necessities — good  roads — were  the  test,  the  honor 
might  be  bestowed  on  Eli  Whitney  Blake  (B.A.  1816).  To  him  we 
are  indebted  for  the  stone-crushing  machine,  which  has  also  greatly 
facilitated  railroad  construction,  and  other  engineering  works. 
Another  Yale  invention,  now  adopted  the  world  over,  is  the  weather 
chart  of  Elias  Loomis  (B.A.  1830),  with  its  familiar  isothermic 
curves.  He  is,  however,  more  properly  considered  under  the  Men 
of  Science. 

[91] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

The  list  of  Yale's  minor  inventors  is  legion.  The  only  one  who 
seems  to  deserve  special  mention  here  is  Alexander  Catlin  Twining 
(B.A.  1820),  the  inventor  of  the  first  machine  for  producing  artificial 
ice  successfully  in  large  quantities.  Unfortunately  Charles  Good- 
year, a  New  Haven  resident  during  many  of  the  years  when  he  was 
perfecting  the  method  which  has  resulted  in  the  modern  rubber  indus- 
try, was  not  a  Yale  graduate.  Yet  the  University  has  a  special  inter- 
est in  his  success  for  he  drew  "daily  counsel  and  aid  from  the  old 
laboratory  of  Yale."^ 

As  the  administration  of  the  United  States  Patent  Office  has 
been  so  intimately  associated  with  the  history  of  invention,  it  is  not 
without  interest  to  note  that  five  of  the  twenty-eight  commissioners 
who  have  been  at  its  head,  have  been  graduates:  Henry  Leavitt 
Ellsworth  (B.A.  1810),  William  Darius  Bishop  (B.A.  1849), 
William  Edgar  Simonds  (LL.B.  1866),  John  Sammis  Seymour 
(B.A.  1875),  and  Frederick  Innis  Allen  (Ph.B.  1879).  The  work 
of  Commissioner  Ellsworth,  who  held  the  office  for  eleven  j^ears,  was 
specially  distinguished.  His  Digest  of  Patents,  issued  hy  the  United 
States,  from  1790  to  January,  1839,  is  of  great  value. 

The  expansion  of  the  Sheffield  Scientific  School  is  resulting  in 
attracting  to  the  University  an  increasing  number  of  students  of 
scientific  ability  and  of  mechanical  ingenuity.  These  conditions  should 
mean  a  relative^  larger  section  devoted  to  Inventors  if  a  work  similar 
to  this  is  published  a  century  hence.  But  to  improve  the  quality  of 
the  list  would  hardly  be  possible,  for  Bushnell,  Whitney,  Morse,  and 
Blake  have  a  permanent  place  in  the  history  of  civilization. 

The  imaginative  quality  which  leads  a  man  to  become  an  inventor 
is  also  shown  in  other  fields,  especially  in  discovery,  pioneering,  art, 
and  literature.  Each  of  these,  except  the  last,  is  often  found  linked 
with  invention  in  the  classification  of  occupations,  talents,  fame,  etc. 
The  field  of  literature  is  so  important  that  it  is  separately  treated, 
while  scientific  discoverers  are  included  under  our  Men  of  Science, 

1  Professor  Benjamin  Silliman,  Jr.,  in  Kingsley,  Yale  College,  Vol.  I,  p.  401. 

[92] 


THE  UNIVERSITY'S  CONTRIBUTION  TO  INVENTION  AND  ART 

especially  that  remarkable  group  connected  with  the  Yale  Faculty 
in  the  second  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  of  which  Josiah  Willard 
Gibbs  (B.A.  1858) — the  discoverer  and  interpreter  of  the  laws  of 
chemical  equilibrium — was  perhaps  the  most  conspicuous  name.  Yale 
has  also  had  many  pioneers,  who  have  been  identified  with  extending 
the  nation  westward  or  with  opening  it  to  civilization.  Several  lives 
recorded  in  these  volumes  tell  this  story:  Eleazar  Wheelock  (B.A. 
1733),  David  Wooster  and  Phineas  Lyman  (B.A.  1738),  David 
Brainerd  (Class  of  1743),  Manasseh  Cutler  (B.A.  1765),  John 
Palsgrave  Wyllys  (B.A.  1773),  Peter  Buell  Porter  (B.A.  1791), 
Junius  Smith  (B.A.  1802),  James  Gadsden  (B.A.  1806),  Theron 
Baldwin  (B.A.  1827) ,  and  many  others.  With  these  should  be  named 
the  geological  surveyors,  led  by  Josiah  D wight  Whitney  (B.A. 
1839),  William  Henry  Brewer  (Ph.B.  1852),  and  Clarence  King 
(Ph.B.  1862),  who  opened  up  the  Western  country  to  settlement 
and  development.  But  these  contributions  to  scientific  discovery  and 
to  pioneering  have  been  discussed  elsewhere,  especially  the  part  played 
by  the  University  and  its  graduates  in  new  ventures  of  an  educational 
character"  which  required  a  high  development  of  the  imaginative 
quality.  So  all  that  remains  for  special  consideration  here  is  a  brief 
survey  of  the  University's  service  to  art. 

The  transition  from  Inventors  to  Artists  is  not  so  incongruous 
as  it  may  appear — for  this  same  faculty  of  the  imagination  is  at  the 
basis  of  both.  In  the  case  of  Yale,  the  University's  greatest 
inventor — Morse — was  also  her  best-known  painter.  Frederick  Law 
Olmsted  (Class  of  1842-1843  and  1845-1846)  was  not  a  graduate, 
but  all  of  his  university  training  was  in  the  New  Haven  laboratories, 
in  the  early  days  when  the  Sillimans  and  their  associates  were  laying 
the  foundations  which  developed  into  the  Sheffield  Scientific  School. 
Olmsted's  work,  both  as  the  pioneer  and  the  leading  exemplar  of  the 
landscape  architect's  art  in  America,  was  of  national  significance. 
Frederic    Remington   A.N.A.    (B.F.A.    1900),    and    Richard    W. 

2  See  Introduction  to  chapter  on  Educational  Leaders. 

[93] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Hubbard,  N.A.  (B.A.  1837),  may  be  taken  as  other  representative 
names  among  graduated  artists  no  longer  living.  But  Yale's  main 
contribution  in  this  field  is  the  School  of  the  Fine  Arts,  the  first 
separately  organized  university  department  of  its  character  in  the 
world.  With  its  traditions  of  nearly  half  a  century,  under  the 
direction  of  John  Ferguson  Weir,  N.A.  (Hon.  M.A.  1871),  and  its 
collections  of  Italian  Masters,  and  of  Trumbull  and  other  American 
paintings,  its  future  seems  assured.  In  the  past,  artists,  even  more 
than  literary  men,  have  not  often  liked  the  restrictions  of  university 
work,  and  have  preferred  to  lead  a  rather  care-free  Bohemian  exist- 
ence on  the  Continent.  But  the  need  of  a  more  systematic  training 
is  now  being  realized,  and  the  future  will  probably  see  more  artists,^ 
and  especially  architects,  among  university  graduates. 

3  For  the  names  of  prominent  Yale  artists  see  footnote,  p.  127. 


[94] 


II.     REPRESENTATIVE  BIOGRAPHIES,  WITH  LETTERS 

David  Bushnell 
Class  of  1775 

Born,  1742;  Died,  1824 
Inventor  of  Torpedo  and  "Father  of  Submarine  Warfare" 

Bushnell's  name  has  never  been  well  known  to  the  public.  His 
portrait  has  not  been  preserved,  the  exact  dates  of  his  birth  and  death 
are  unknown,  and  almost  no  facts  are  available  for  the  last  thirty- 
years  of  his  life.  Yet  his  claims  to  recognition  as  a  brilliant  inventor 
are  unquestioned  by  those  qualified  to  judge  from  a  knowledge  of 
his  work  in  laying  the  foundations  of  the  modern  science  of  the 
submarine. 

He  was  born  at  Saybrook,  Connecticut,  where  his  father  was  a 
farmer  of  small  means.  His  college  preparation  was  cared  for  by 
his  pastor,  a  Yale  graduate,^  who  was  an  excellent  classical  scholar 
and  an  ardent  patriot.  He  was  nearly  thirty  when  he  entered  Yale. 
There  are  few  references  to  him  in  the  minutes  of  his  debating  club — 
Linonia — and  they  throw  no  light  on  his  development.  He  was  one 
of  the  subscribers  to  the  purchase  of  Rollin's  Ancient  History  for  the 
society's  library.  The  records  for  the  summer  of  his  graduation  state 
that  there  were  "no  Anniversary  exercises  this  year  on  account  of 
the  publick  difficulties  arising  from  the  controversy  between  Great 
Brittain  and  the  Colonies;  but  love  and  benevolence  abound  among 
all  the  members  of  the  Fellowship  club.'"  As  President  Stiles  records 
in  his  diary  that  most  of  the  candidates  for  the  Master's  degree  in 
1778  paid  him  twelve  dollars  as  a  "gratuity,"  and  as  Bushnell  is  down 
as   paying  "nothing,"   it  may  be   assumed  that  his   circumstances 


iRev.  John  Devotion  (B.A.  1754). 
2  MS.  Records  Linonia,  April  20,  1775. 


[95] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

during  student  days  were  very  modest.  In  his  Freshman  year  he 
conceived  the  idea  of  the  modern  torpedo,  which  he  perfected  shortly 
before  graduation.  A  most  interesting  reference  to  the  machine  is 
found  in  a  letter  written  to  Ezra  Stiles,  afterwards  President,  by 
Tutor  Lewis,  when  Bushnell  was  a  Senior.  It  is  preserved  in  Stiles' 
Diary  for  August  15,  1775,  in  this  form,  the  Latin  being  probably 
used  to  make  it  less  likely  that  the  knowledge  of  the  invention  would 
become  known  to  the  enemy,  in  case  the  letter  should  fall  into 
unfriendly  hands: 

Last  Eveng.  I  rtc^  a  Letter  from  M^  Tutor  Lewis  of  Yale  College.  Speaking 
of  M^"  Bushnel  a  Student  there  he  says — "Hie  Homo  est  Machinae  Inventor,  quae 
ad  Naves  Bostoniae  portu  Pulveris  pyrii  Explosione  destruendas,  nunc  est  fabricata 
&  fere  perfecta.  Machina  ita  est  formata,  ut  20  aut  amplius  pedes  sub  undas 
celeriter  transeat,  &  Pulveris  pyrii  2000lb  portare  et  Navis  Carinas  infigere  possit. 
Statim  vel  post  Minuta  decem  vel  Semi-horam,  secundum  Operatoris  Voluntatem, 
Horologium  totam  Massam  inflammabit."  &c ^ 

It  was  therefore  on  the  Yale  Campus,  and  probably  in  Bushnell*s 
room,  that  the  torpedo  was  invented.  Timothy  Dwight,  the  year 
before  he  became  President,  wrote : 

See  Bushnell's  strong,  creative  genius,  fraught 
With  all  th'  assembled  powers  of  skilful  thought. 
His  mystic  vessel  plunge  beneath  the  waves, 
And  glide  thro'  dark  retreats,  and  coral  caves  !* 

The  year  after  graduation  was  spent  at  Saybrook,  constructing 
the  "American  Turtle,"  which  was  ready  for  use  late  the  following 
spring,  thanks  to  some  help  from  the  Governor  and  Council,  to 
whom  he  explained  "his  machine  for  blowing  up  ships. "^  We  are 
fortunate  to  have  had  preserved  in  some  correspondence  between  two 
well-known  Yale  graduates — Dr.  Benjamin  Gale  (q.v.)  and  Silas 
Deane  (q.v.) — an  exact  description  of  this  interesting  small  vessel, 
destined  to  be  the  prototype  of  the  great  submarine  fleets  of  the  world. 

3  Stiles,  Diary,  Vol.  I,  p.  600. 

*  Dwight,  Greenfield  Hill,  p.  163,  Part  vii,  lines  431-434. 

5  Acts  of  the  Governor  [Comiecticut]  and  Council  of  Safety,  February  2,  1776.  Quoted 
by  Abbot,  The  Beginning  of  Modern  Submarine  Warfare,  p.  174. 

[96] 


INVENTORS  AND  ARTISTS— DAVID  BUSHNELL 

It  is  also  the  first  description,  except  for  the  brief  Latin  reference 
above,  and  so  seems  worthy  of  reproduction  at  length.  Dr.  Gale 
wrote  in  November,  1775: 

I  now  sit  down  to  give  you  a  succinct  but  imperfect  account  of  its  structure, 
which  is  so  complicated  that  it  is  impossible  to  give  a  perfect  idea  of  it. 

The  body,  when  standing  upright  in  the  position  in  which  it  is  navigated,  has 
the  nearest  resemblance  to  the  two  upper  shells  of  a  Tortoise  joined  together.  In 
length,  it  doth  not  exceed  7I/2  feet  from  the  stem  to  the  higher  part  of  the  rudder: 
the  height  not  exceeding  6  feet.  The  person  who  navigates  it  enters  at  the  top. 
It  has  a  brass  top  or  cover,  which  receives  the  person's  head  as  he  sits  on  a  seat, 
and  is  fastened  on  the  inside  by  screws.  In  this  brass  head  is  fixed  eight  glasses,  viz. 
two  before,  two  on  each  side,  one  behind,  and  one  to  look  forward.  In  the  same  brass 
head  are  fixed  two  brass  tubes,  to  admit  fresh  air  when  requisite,  and  a  ventilator  at 
the  side  to  free  the  machine  from  the  air  rendered  unfit  for  respiration.  On  the  inside 
is  fixed  a  Barometer,  by  which  he  can  tell  the  depth  he  is  under  water;  a  Compass, 
by  which  he  knows  the  course  he  steers.  In  the  barometer  and  on  the  needles  of 
the  compass  is  fixed  fox-fire,  i.  e.  wood  that  gives  light  in  the  dark.  His  ballast 
consists  of  about  900  wt.  of  lead  which  he  carries  at  the  bottom  and  on  the  outside 
of  the  machine,  part  of  which  is  so  fixed  as  he  can  let  run  down  to  the  bottom,  and 
serves  as  an  anchor,  by  which  he  can  ride  ad  libitum.  He  has  a  sounding  lead 
fixed  at  the  bow,  by  which  he  can  take  the  depth  of  water  under  him;  and  to  bring 
the  machine  into  a  perfect  equilibrium  with  the  water,  he  can  admit  so  much  water 
as  is  necessary,  and  has  a  forcing  pump  by  which  he  can  free  the  machine  at 
pleasure,  and  can  rise  above  water,  and  again  immerge,  as  occasion  requires. 

In  the  bow,  he  has  a  pair  of  oars  fixed  like  the  two  opposite  arms  of  a  windmill, 
with  which  he  can  row  forward,  and  turning  them  the  opposite  way  row  the 
machine  backward;  another  pair  fixed  upon  the  same  model,  with  which  he  can 
row  the  machine  round,  either  to  the  right  or  left;  and  a  third,  by  which  he  can 
row  the  machine  either  up  or  down:  all  which  are  turned  by  foot,  like  a  spinning 
wheel.  The  rudder  by  which  he  steers,  he  manages  by  hand,  within  board.  All 
these  shafts  which  pass  through  the  machine  are  so  curiously  fixed  as  not  to  admit 
any  water  to  incommode  the  machine.  The  magazine  for  powder  is  carried  on  the 
hinder  part  of  the  machine,  without  board,  and  so  contrived,  that  when  he  comes 
under  the  side  of  the  ship,  he  rubs  down  the  side  until  he  comes  to  the  keel,  and  a 
hook  so  fixed  as  that  when  it  touches  the  keel  it  raises  a  spring  which  frees  the 
magazine  from  the  machine  and  fastens  it  to  the  side  of  the  ship;  at  the  same  time 
it  draws  a  pin,  which  sets  the  watch-work  a  going  whicli,  at  a  given  time,  springs  the 
lock  and  the  explosion  occurs. 

Three  magazines  are  prepared;  the  first,  the  explosion  takes  place  in  twelve, 
the  second  in  eight,  the  third  in  six  hours  after  being  fixed  to  the  ship.  He  proposes 
to  fix  these  three  before  the  first  explosion  takes  place." 

6  Collections  of  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society,  Vol.  II,  p.  315.     Quoted  by  Abbot, 
pp.  176,  177. 

[  97  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Such  was  the  briUiant  invention.  Dr.  Gale,  in  a  letter  written 
the  following  year,  says  that  he  has  conversed  fully  with  the  inventor, 
adding:  "He  is  no  enthusiast;  a  perfect  philosopher,  and  by  no  means 
doubtful  of  succeding."'  But  unfortunately  the  actual  success  of  the 
machine  was  not  up  to  its  promise  or  its  merits.  In  the  summer 
of  1776  it  was  taken  to  New  York  to  operate  against  a  British  man- 
of-war  lying  in  the  harbor.  This  was  the  first  use  of  a  torpedo  in 
naval  history,  and  Bushnell  was  the  first  to  use  the  word  to  describe 
his  own  machine.^  The  ship  selected  as  the  object  of  attack  was 
commanded  by  Lord  Howe,  the  admiral  of  the  British  fleet,  and  it 
is  probable  that  the  attempt  would  have  succeeded  had  it  not  been 
for  two  unfortunate  occurrences:  the  illness  of  the  skilled  operator, 
necessitating  the  hurried  training  of  a  substitute,  and  the  fact  that 
the  latter  was  unable  to  find  on  the  enemy's  ship  any  wooden  surface 
or  copper  which  could  be  pierced,  and  as  the  screw,  which  was  to  fasten 
the  detachable  magazine  to  the  submerged  portion  of  the  hull,  would 
not  penetrate  iron,  he  had  to  give  up  the  undertaking.  General 
Putnam,  and  others  who  witnessed  the  attempt,  could  see  that  the 
torpedo  was  perfectly  navigable  and  dirigible,  and  were  convinced 
that  had  Sergeant  Ezra  Lee  only  moved  a  few  feet  along  the  ship  away 
from  the  iron  bar,  which  he  encountered  near  the  rudder,  the  fifty-gun 
"Eagle"  would  have  been  wrecked  by  the  torpedo's  magazine  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  powder.  On  his  return  to  shore,  Lee 
cast  off  this  latter  in  mid  harbor,  in  his  desire  to  escape  danger  by 
greater  speed.  In  due  time  the  onlookers  saw  a  tremendous  explosion 
of  water — the  clock-work  control  having  done  its  duty  perfectly. 

Of  the  many  other  exploits  of  Bushnell  in  the  war,  two  deserve 
special  mention.  In  August,  1777,  he  floated  a  machine  guided  by  a 
line  against  some  British  shipping  near  New  London.  It  was 
intended  to  destroy  the  frigate  "Cerberus."  This  it  failed  to  do,  but 
it  demolished  the  next  ship,  killing  several  of  its  crew.    This  was  the 

7  Ibid.,  Vol.  II,  p.  358.    Date  of  letter,  February  1,  1776. 

8  See  Thacher,  Military  Journal,  for  October,  1776,  p.  63. 

[98] 


INVENTORS  AND  ARTISTS— DAVID  BUSHNELL 

first  successful  use  of  torpedoes  in  history.  No  wonder  that  Commo- 
dore Symons  of  the  British  Navy,  officially  reporting  the  incident, 
stated  that  "the  ingenuity  of  these  people  is  singular  in  their  secret 
modes  of  mischief  ....   !"^ 

The  next  operation  is  less  important,  but  much  more  famous. 
Bushnell  fixed  several  kegs  filled  with  powder  under  water  in  the 
Delaware  River,  to  drift  down  and  injure  the  enemy's  ships  at  Phila- 
delphia. Only  one  boat  was  destroyed,  but  the  occurrence  caused 
the  British  great  alarm,  as  depicted  in  one  of  the  most  popular  of 
Revolutionary  songs,  Francis  Hopkinson's  The  Battle  of  the  Kegs. 

It  is  a  mere  matter  of  history  to  add,  that  this  jingling  little  story  of  "The 
Battle  of  the  Kegs" — mere  doggerel  though  it  is — flew  from  colony  to  colony,  in 
those  grim  early  months  of  the  year  1778,  like  some  merry  messenger  of  gay 
tidings ;  and  that,  in  many  a  camp,  and  along  a  thousand  highroads,  and  by  ten 
thousand  patriot  firesides,  it  gave  the  weary  and  anxious  people  the  luxury  of 
genuine  and  hearty  laughter  in  very  scorn  of  the  enemy.  To  the  cause  of  the 
Revolution,  it  was  perhaps  worth  as  much,  just  then,  by  way  of  emotional  tonic 
and  of  military  inspiration,  as  the  winning  of  a  considerable  battle  would  have 
been.^° 

In  1779  Bushnell  was  appointed  captain  lieutenant  of  the  newly 
organized  corps  of  Sappers  and  Miners.  He  was  later  promoted  to  a 
full  captaincy,  and  served  until  the  end  of  the  war,  taking  part,  among 
many  events,  in  the  great  victory  at  Yorktown.  The  invention  and 
experiments,  for  which  he  was  very  inadequately  paid  by  the  state, 
exhausted  his  slender  resources,  so  he  went  abroad  to  try  his  fortunes 
there.  After  several  years  in  France  he  returned  to  America,  and 
being  unmarried,  began  life  anew  as  "Dr.  Bush,"  known  as  a  teacher 
and  doctor  in  and  near  Warrenton,  Georgia.  The  last  years  are 
shrouded  in  considerable  uncertainty.  It  is  clear,  however,  that  he 
acquired  some  property,^^  that  he  was  interested  in  education,  and 
that  he  was  highly  respected  in  the  community.     What   General 

9  Official  Report,  August  15,  1777,  to  Sir  Peter  Parke.    Quoted  by  Abbot,  p.  193. 

10  Tyler,  Literary  History,  Vol.  II,  p.  149. 

11  The  author  has  found  record  in  Warrenton  of  a  deed  to  certain  lots  in  favor  of  "David 
Bush,"  December  6,  1803. 

[99] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Putnam  wrote  to  Washington,  in  May,  1779,  when  Bushnell  was 
captured  by  the  British  near  Norwalk,  seems  to  have  been  prophetic 
of  this  little-recognized  inventor:  "As  the  last  mentioned  gentleman 
who  was  there  in  his  unremitted  endeavors  to  destroy  the  enemy's 
shipping,  is  personally  known  to  very  few  people,  it  is  possible  he  may 
not  be  discovered  by  his  real  name  or  character,  and  may  be  considered 
of  less  consequence  than  he  actually  is.'""  It  is  gratifying,  in  view  of 
this  lack  of  general  knowledge,  to  find  that  the  Commander-in-chief 
appreciated  his  services,  saying  that  he  was  "a  man  of  great  mechanical 
powers,  fertile  in  inventions  and  master  of  execution.'"^ 

David  Bushnell's  name  and  work  are  so  little  known  that  it  seems 
best  to  substantiate,  from  authoritative  opinions,  our  claim  for  him 
as  a  great  inventor.  In  1869  Lieutenant  Commander  John  S.  Barnes, 
of  the  United  States  Navy,  published  a  volume  entitled  Submarine 
Warfare,  Offensive  and  Defensive.    It  contains  the  following: 

To  David  Bushnell  of  Connecticut  is  justly  attributed  the  idea  of  attacking  a 
ship  by  applying  to  its  submerged  parts  a  magazine  of  powder,  which,  when 
exploded  by  devices  contrived  for  the  purpose,  should  disable  or  destroy  her.  He 
may  also  be  said  to  have  originated  a  plan  for  submarine  navigation,  in  pursuance 
of  which  he  constructed  the  first  submarine  boat  capable  of  locomotion,  of  which 
there  is  any  accurate  record  in  history.  In  its  application  as  a  means  of  warfare, 
he  must  have  entire  credit  for  originality. 

In  1881,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Henry  L.  Abbot,  of  the  United  States 
Army,  a  member  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  wrote: 

The  fundamental  principle  of  modern  submarine  mining  is  the  utilization  of 
the  pressure  of  the  water  to  develop  the  requisite  intensity  of  action  in  an  explosion 
near  the  vessel  to  be  destroyed. 

The  practical  importance  of  this  principle  was  first  appreciated  and  experi- 
mentally established,  in  1771-75,  by  David  Bushnell,  then  an  under-graduate  of 
Yale  College  at  New  Haven,  Connecticut.  He  also  originated  the  first  submarine 
boat  capable  of  locomotion,  of  which  we  have  any  accurate  records.  To  him, 
therefore,  has  justly  been  conceded  the  credit  of  inaugurating  modern  torpedo 
warfare.^* 

12  Johnston,  Yale  in  the  American  Revolution,  p.  307. 

13  Sparks,  Writings  of  Washington,  Vol.  IX,  p.  134.    Quoted  by  Abbot,  p.  166. 
1*  Abbot,  The  Beginning  of  Modern  Submarine  Warfare,  p.  163. 

[100] 


INVENTORS  AND  ARTISTS— DAVID  BUSHNELL 

Everything  that  we  know  of  him  confirms  the  impression  that 
he  was  a  man  of  genius,  of  patriotism,  and  of  character,  while  the 
amply  attested  fact  that  his  invention  was  made  while  a  Yale  under- 
graduate adds  to  the  pleasure  of  trying  to  give  a  largely  overlooked 
man  his  deserts.  Had  his  physical  strength  been  equal  to  his  braver}^, 
he  probably  would  have  been  his  own  engineer,  and  a  successful  one, 
but  he  was  not  strong  enough  to  propel  the  "American  Turtle"  or 
"Torpedo,"  and  had  to  trust  it  to  less  experienced  and  less  resourceful 
hands.  Had  it  not  been  for  their  mistakes  his  fame  would  doubtless 
have  been  much  greater. 

In  addition  to  his  invention  of  the  submarine,  there  seems  ground 
to  claim  that  Bushnell  was  the  first  person  in  America  to  devise  and 
employ  the  submerged  propeller,  and  the  author  can  find  no  earlier 
reference  to  an  actual  use  of  the  screw  for  purposes  of  propulsion, 
even  in  Europe.^^  Daniel  Bernouilli,  in  1752,  won  a  prize  offered  by 
the  French  Academy  of  Sciences  for  the  best  method  of  propelling 
vessels  without  wind.  But  his  plan  was  merely  a  precursor  of  the 
modern  paddle  wheel.  In  1768  Paucton  suggested  "the  employment 
of  a  screw  ....  for  propelling  vessels,"  but  as  far  as  has  been 
ascertained,  Bushnell  seems  to  have  been  the  first  actually  to  employ 

The  best  account  of  Bushnell's  work  is  that  given  in  Abbot's 
The  Beginning  of  Modern  Submarine  Warfare,  Under  Captain- 
Lieutenant  David  Bushnell.  This  is  paper  No.  Ill,  of  the  Engineer 
School  of  Application,  Willets  Point,  New  York  Harbor.  It  includes 
full  quotations  from  Bushnell's  account  of  his  invention  and 
experiments  in  the  Transactions  of  the  American  Philosophical 
Society,  Vol.  IV,  p.  303. 

As  the  author  has  been  unable  to  find  an  original  autograph  of 
Bushnell  for  his  collection,  a  facsimile  of  one  in  the  New  York  Public 

15  For  the  historical  facts  on  which  these  claims  are  made  see  A   Treatise  on  the  Screw 
Propeller,  by  John  Bourne,  C.E.,  London,  1867. 

16  This  achievement  is  generally  identified  with  the  name  of  John  Stevens,  who,  in  1804, 
successfully  applied  steam  to  the  screw  propeller  as  a  motive  power. 

[  101  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Library  is  exhibited.    It  reads  as  follows : 

Provission  Return  for  tow  Men  Discharged  from  the  Corps  of  Seppers 
&  Miners  to  Carry  them  to  Noridg  Commensing  the  fifth  &  Ending  the  Eleventh 
of  July  1783— 

NO  of  Days     N^  of  Rashons 
two  Privets                                                                        7  14 

Total 14 

Issue  one  the  ABove  Returen  fourteen  Rashons — 

D.  BusHNELL  Cap*.  Com*^. 


[102] 


INVENTORS  AND  ARTISTS— ELI  WHITNEY 

Eli  Whitney 
Class  of  1792 

Born,  December  8,  1765;  Died,  January  8,  1825 
Inventor  of  the  Cotton-Gin 

The  inventor  of  the  cotton-gin  was  the  son  of  a  prosperous  farmer 
of  Westboro,  Massachusetts.  He  early  showed  mechanical  tastes, 
and  when  still  a  lad  made  a  local  reputation  by  manufacturing  nails, 
hatpins,  and  walking  canes.  The  opposition  of  a  stepmother  made 
his  going  to  college  difficult,  and  it  was  not  until  he  was  twenty-three 
that  he  had  earned  enough  money,  through  manual  work  and  village 
school-teaching,  to  secure  the  special  tutoring  necessary  to  prepare 
for  Yale.  This  was  obtained  from  Rev.  Elizur  Goodrich  (B.A. 
1752),  for  many  years  Fellow  and  Secretary  of  the  Yale  Corporation. 

As  an  undergraduate  he  showed  special  ability  in  mathematics, 
was  elected  to  Phi  Beta  Kappa,  and  took  part  in  a  dialogue  at 
Quarter-Day  of  Junior  year.  His  Yankee  ingenuity  was  shown  by 
his  successfully  repairing  some  apparatus  which  the  authorities 
thought  would  have  to  be  returned  to  Europe  before  it  could  again  be 
used.  His  skill  with  tools  was  a  good  resource  for  one  mainly 
dependent  upon  his  own  efforts  for  support  while  securing  an 
education.  He  took  much  interest  in  Linonia,  participated  in  its 
debates,  and  was  active  in  conducting  its  affairs.  Here  is  a  passage 
from  the  minutes:  "After  a  cool  deliberation  it  was  agreed  by  the 
Society  to  chose  members  to  write  exercises  for  a  public  anniversary 
the  year  following.  The  Society  accordingly  chose  Whitney  of  tlie 
Seignior  class  to  write  the  first  Oration."^  It  is  also  recorded  that 
as  President  of  the  society  he  "delivered  a  verj"  agreable  narration" 
to  the  newcomers,  and  that  he  won  a  debate  on  capital  pimishment 
"after  a  warm  and  handsome  discussion  of  the  subject.""    His  records 

1  MS.  Records  of  Linonia,  August  25,  1791. 

2  Ibid.,  September  8,  and  November  22,  1791. 

[  103  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

as  scribe  are  kept  in  the  neatest  possible  manner,  in  contrast  with 
some  other  holders  of  this  office.  At  the  close  of  his  term  he  inscribed 
in  the  minute  book  this  tribute  to  his  society:  "The  Spheres  may- 
cease  to  roll  &  the  Sun  forget  to  rise,  but  the  immaculate  LINONIA 
shall  forever  Shine  conspicuous  with  increasing  LUSTRE."^ 

The  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society  was  then  conducted  largely  for 
purposes  of  debate,  and  it  is  clear  from  the  records  that  he  was  much 
interested  in  its  activities.  He  debated,  "Do  we  derive  a  right  from 
the  laws  of  Nature  to  inflict  the  punishment  of  death  for  any  crime 
whatsoever?",  "Ought  the  Debates  of  the  national  Senate  to  be 
public?",  and  "Is  the  Indian  War  founded  on  principles  of  justice?" — • 
all  of  which  were  decided  by  the  society  in  the  affirmative.  His 
reputation  for  ability  during  student  days  is  shown  in  a  letter  written 
eighteen  months  after  his  graduation  to  Oliver  Wolcott  (q.v.), 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  by  his  college  friend,  Elizur  Goodrich 
(B.A.  1779),  the  son  of  his  former  teacher.    In  it  he  says: 

Whitney  graduated  at  Yale  College,  Sept.  1792,  sustained  a  very  fair  reputation 
in  the  academic  studies,  and  is  perhaps  inferior  to  none  in  an  acquaintance  with 
the  mechanic  powers,  and  those  branches  of  natural  philosophy  which  are  applicable 
to  the  commerce  and  manufactures  of  our  country.  To  theory  he  happily  unites 
talents  to  reduce  it  to  practice;  a  circumstance  which  is  rarely  found  in  our  young 
gentlemen  of  collegiate  education.  Surpassing  the  exactest  workman  of  my 
acquaintance  in  wood,  brass  and  iron,  he  is  his  own  master  workman  in  these 
respective  branches,  and  resorts  to  himself  to  reduce  his  theories  to  experiment  and 
practice.* 

His  general  position  in  his  class  is  indicated  by  his  being  chosen  by 
the  Faculty,  in  Senior  year,  to  deliver  the  address  on  the  occasion  of 
the  death  of  a  classmate.  This  old-time  funeral  oration  seems  to  have 
been  his  first  and  only  separate  publication.  These  words  from  it  are 
characteristic  of  the  man  both  as  an  undergraduate  and  in  after  life: 
"We  soon  must  quit  these  favorite  walks  of  science  and  retirement, 
and  go  forth  each  to  perform  his  destined  task  on  the  busy  stage  of 
life.    Let  us  ever  be  actuated  by  principles  of  integrity,  and  always 

3  Ibid.,  August  27,  1789. 

*  Gibbs,  Memoirs  of  the  Administrations  of  Washington  and  John  Adams,  p.  128. 

[104] 


INVENTORS  AND  ARTISTS— ELI  WHITNEY 

maintain  a  consciousness  of  doing  right."^  The  Class  Secretary,  in 
his  unpublished  record,  states  that  his  classmates  little  appreciated 
Whitney's  latent  energies.  He  is  described  as  "deliberate  and  self- 
collected,  marked  for  his  mildness  and  amiability."*'  He  was  a  good 
student,  lived  simply,  and  was  respected  by  all. 

Whitney  had  planned  to  read  law,  but  his  resources  were  too 
small  to  permit  further  study,  so  like  many  young  Yale  graduates  of 
the  period,  he  accepted  a  position  as  a  tutor  in  a  Southern  family.  He 
went  South  on  the  same  ship  with  the  family  of  General  Nathanael 
Greene,  and  stopped  for  a  time  at  their  plantation  at  Mulberry  Grove, 
near  Savannah,  Georgia.  Here  the  need  of  some  machine  for  separat- 
ing the  upland  cotton  staple  from  its  seed  pressed  itself  upon  him, 
and,  having  relinquished  his  teaching  position,  he  almost  immediately 
devised  the  essential  features  of  his  later  invention.  In  this  work  he 
was  greatly  encouraged  by  his  fellow  Yalensian,  Phineas  Miller  (B.A. 
1785),  who  was  a  tutor  in  the  family.^  By  April,  1793,  a  working 
model  of  the  machine  was  in  operation,  and  his  trials  began.  The 
invention  was  of  such  great  commercial  value  that  rumors  regarding 
it  spread  like  wildfire,  and  efforts  to  keep  the  secret  proved  futile. 
The  trouble  finally  culminated  in  a  raid,  when  the  macliine  was  carried 
away  and  reproduced,  with  slight  variations,  in  different  parts  of  the 
state.  This  increased  the  difficulty  of  securing  a  patent,  but  papers 
were  finally  granted,  March  4,  1794,^  almost  a  j^ear  after  the 
application  was  made.  Whitney's  own  account  of  the  invention  is 
given  in  a  letter  to  Thomas  Jefferson,  then  Secretary  of  State : 

It  is  about  a  year  since  I  first  turned  my  attention  to  constructing  this  machine, 
at  which  time  I  was  in  the  State  of  Georgia.  Within  about  ten  days  after  my  first 
conception  of  the  plan,  I  made  a  small,  though  imperfect  model.  Experiments 
with  this  encouraged  me  to  make  one  on  a  larger  scale;  but  the  extreme  difficulty 
of  procuring  workmen  and  proper  materials  in  Georgia,  prevented  my  completing 
the  larger  one  until  some  time  in  April  last.     This,  though  much  larger  than  my 

6  An  Oration  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Robert  Grant,  p.  15. 

6  MS.  Memoirs  of  the  Class  of  1792,  p.  209. 

7  Olmsted,  Memoirs  of  Eli  Whitney,  p.  15. 

8  The  model  was  exhibited   at   the   President's  house   at  Yale   ten   days   earlier.     Stiles, 
Diary,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  516,  517. 

[  105  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

first  attempt,  is  not  above  one  third  as  large  as  the  machines  may  be  made  with 
convenience.  The  cylinder  is  only  two  feet  two  inches  in  length,  and  six  inches 
diameter.  It  is  turned  by  hand  and  requires  the  strength  of  one  man  to  keep  it  in 
constant  motion.  It  is  the  stated  task  of  one  negro  to  clean  fifty  weight,  (I  mean 
fifty  pounds  after  it  is  separated  from  the  seed,)  of  the  green  seed  cotton  per  day.' 

Almost  interminable  lawsuits  now  began,  and  every  possible 
attempt  was  made  to  cheat  Whitney  out  of  the  well-deserved  fruits 
of  his  ingenuity.  But  he  persisted,  and  although  the  renewal  of  the 
patent  was  denied  by  Congress,  he  derived  satisfaction  from  knowing 
that  his  invention  was  of  incalculable  benefit  to  the  South,  and  he 
gained  some  reward  through  the  purchase  by  several  states  of  the 
rights  to  use  the  machine.  A  letter  to  a  college  friend,  Josiah 
Stebbins  (B.A.  1791),  tells  of  his  first  large  financial  success.  It  was 
with  South  Carolina,  whose  legislature  purchased  the  local  rights  for 
fifty  thousand  dollars,  of  which  nearly  one-half  was  paid  in  cash." 

A  good  contemporary  evidence  of  the  value  of  the  invention  to 
the  South  was  given  in  Judge  Johnson's  decision  in  favor  of  Whitney, 
against  some  of  his  persistent  patent  trespassers,  at  a  session  of  the 
United  States  Court,  in  Georgia,  December,  1807: 

With  regard  to  the  utility  of  this  discovery,  the  Court  would  deem  it  a  waste 
of  time  to  dwell  long  upon  this  topic.  Is  there  a  man  who  hears  us,  who  has  not 
experienced  its  utility.^  The  whole  interior  of  the  Southern  States  was  languishing, 
and  its  inhabitants  emigrating  for  want  of  some  object  to  engage  their  attention 
and  employ  their  industry,  when  the  invention  of  this  machine  at  once  opened 
views  to  them,  which  set  the  whole  country  in  active  motion.  From  childhood  to 
age  it  has  presented  to  us  a  lucrative  employment.  Individuals  who  were  depressed 
with  poverty  and  sunk  in  idleness,  have  suddenly  risen  to  wealth  and  respectability. 
Our  debts  have  been  paid  oflP.  Our  capitals  have  increased,  and  our  lands  trebled 
themselves  in  value.  We  cannot  express  the  weight  of  the  obligation  which  the 
country  owes  to  this  invention.  The  extent  of  it  cannot  now  be  seen.  Some  faint 
presentiment  may  be  formed  from  the  reflection  that  cotton  is  rapidly  supplanting 
wool,  flax,  silk,  and  even  furs  in  manufactures,  and  may  one  day  profitably  supply 
the  use  of  specie  in  our  East  India  trade.  Our  sister  States,  also,  participate  in 
the  benefits  of  this  invention;  for,  besides  affording  the  raw  material  for  their 
manufacturers,  the  bulkiness  and  quantity  of  the  article  afford  a  valuable 
employment  for  their  shipping.^^ 

»  Olmsted,  Memoirs  of  Eli  Whitney,  p.  17.    Date  of  letter,  November  24,  1793. 

10  Ibid.,  Letter,  p.  30. 

11  Ibid.,  p.  40. 

[106] 


Kli  Whitnky 

Class  of    I  7'J~ 


Ml MOIllALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

•  .pt,  is  not  above  one  third  as  large  as  the  machines  may  be  made  with 

.  f.     The  cylinder  is  only  two  feet  two  inches  in  length,  and  six  inches 

It  is  turned  bi/  hand  and  requires  the  strength  of  one  man  to  keep  it  in 

motion.     It  is  the  stated  task  of  one  negro  to  clean  fifty  weight,  (I  mean 

fifty  pounds  after  it  is  separated  from  the  seed,)  of  the  green  seed  cotton  per  day.' 

Almost  interminable  lawsuits  now  began,  and  every  possible 
attempt  was  made  to  cheat  Whitney  out  of  the  well-deserved  fruits 
of  his  ingenuity.  But  he  persisted,  and  although  the  renewal  of  the 
patent  was  denied  by  Congress,  he  derived  satisfaction  from  knowing 
that  his  invention  was  of  incalculable  benefit  to  the  South,  and  he 
gained  some  reward  through  the  purchase  by  several  states  of  the 
rights  to  use  the  machine.  A  letter  to  a  college  friend,  Josiah 
Stebbins  (B.A.  1791),  tells  of  his  first  large  financial  success.  It  was 
with  South  Carolina,  whose  legislature  purchased  the  local  rights  for 
fifty  thousand  dollars,  of  which  nearly  one-half  was  paid  in  cash." 

A  good  contemporary  evidence  of  the  value  of  the  invention  to 
the  South  was  given  in  Judge  Johnson's  decision  in  favor  of  Whitney, 
against  some  of  his  persistent  patent  trespassers,  at  a  session  of  the 
United  States  Court,  in  Georgia,  December,  1807: 

With  regard  to  the  utility  of  this  discovery,  the  Court  would  deem  it  a  waste 
of  time  to  dwell  long  upon  this  topic.  Is  there  a  man  who  hears  us,  who  has  not 
experienced  its  utility.^  The  whole  interior  of  the  Southern  States  was  languishing, 
and  its  inhabitants  emigrating  for  want  of  some  object  to  engage  their  attention 
and  employ  their  industry,  when  the  invention  of  this  machine  at  once  opened 
views  to  them,  which  set  the  whole  country  in  active  motion.  From  childhood  to 
age  it  has  presented  to  us  a  lucrative  employment.  Individuals  who  were  depressed 
with  poverty  and  sunk  in  idleness,  have  suddenly  risen  to  wealth  and  respectability. 
Our  debts  have  been  paid  off.  Our  capitals  have  increased,  and  our  lands  trebled 
themselves  in  value.  We  cannot  express  the  weight  of  the  obligation  which  the 
country  owes  to  this  invention.  The  extent  of  it  cannot  now  be  seen.  Some  faint 
presentiment  may  be  formed  from  the  reflection  that  cotton  is  rapidly  supplanting 
wool,  flax,  silk,  and  even  furs  in  manufactures,  and  may  one  day  profitably  supply 
the  use  of  specie  in  our  East  India  trade.  Our  sister  States,  also,  participate  in 
the  benefits  of  this  invention;  for,  besides  affording  the  raw  material  for  their 
manufacturers,  the  bulkiness  and  quantity  of  the  article  afford  a  valuable 
employment  for  their  shipping.^^ 

9  Ohnsted,  Memoirs  of  Eli  Whitney,  ■^.'^fl^Ukd'of  W'Wr,  November  24,  1793. 

10  Ibid.,  Letter,  p.  30. 

11  76jd.,  p.  40.  I-'GTI    TO  ggA-iD 

[106] 


MP      f 


INVENTORS  AND  ARTISTS— ELI  WHITNEY 

One  of  Mr.  Whitney's  legal  counsel  was  his  college  friend,  Hon. 
Samuel  M.  Hopkins  (B.A.  1791).  He  knew  as  well  as  anyone  the 
trials  through  which  the  inventor  passed  during  these  years,  and  has 
borne  valuable  testimony  to  the  spirit  in  which  they  were  met.  He 
states  that  in  all  his  experience  in  the  thorny  profession  of  the  law, 
he  has  never  seen  such  a  case  of  perseverance,  under  such  persecu- 
tion; nor,  he  adds,  "do  I  believe  that  I  ever  knew  any  other  man  who 
would  have  met  them  with  equal  coolness  and  firmness,  or  who  would 
finally  have  obtained  even  the  partial  success  which  he  had.  He 
always  called  on  me  in  New  York,  on  his  way  South,  when  going  to 
attend  his  endless  trials,  and  to  meet  the  mischievous  contrivances  of 
men  who  seemed  inexhaustible  in  their  resources  of  evil.  Even  now, 
after  thirtj^  years,  my  head  aches  to  recollect  his  narratives  of  new 
trials,  fresh  disappointments,  and  accumulated  wrongs."^^  The  legal 
contests,  the  burning  of  the  cotton-gin  factory,  the  death  of  his 
partner,  Miller,  financial  difficulties,  and  other  troubles,  which  would 
have  completely  discouraged  any  man  of  less  strength  of  character, 
finally  determined  Whitney  to  turn  his  main  energies  into  another 
line,  the  manufacture  of  firearms.  He  bought  a  tract  of  land  at  the 
foot  of  East  Rock,  New  Haven,  and  erected  what  was  at  the  time 
the  model  American  factory.  It  is  still  standing  and  in  use  for 
manufacturing  purposes.  Here  he  made  for  years  the  muskets  used 
by  the  army  of  the  United  States.  His  system  of  factory  manage- 
ment, with  large  division  of  labor,  was  new  in  this  country,  and  did 
much  to  introduce  the  modern  era  of  industry,  which  has  made 
Connecticut  and  its  mechanics  famous  the  world  over.  He  also  used 
new  types  of  labor-saving  machinery  of  his  own  invention,  which 
greatly  increased  both  the  quality  of  the  product,  and  the  financial 
rewards  of  the  inventor.  Secretary  Wolcott's  estimate  of  his  services 
and  character  as  a  manufacturer  of  arms  is  interesting : 

New  York,  May  7,  1814. 
Sir — I  have  the  honor  to  address  you  on  bclialf  of  my  friend,  Eli  Whitney,  Esq., 
12  Ibid.,  p.  47. 

[  107  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

of  New  Haven,  who  is  a  manufacturer  of  arms,  under  a  contract  with  your  depart- 
ment. Mr.  Whitney  first  engaged  in  this  business  under  a  contract  with  me,  as 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury;  when,  according  to  existing  laws,  all  contracts  for 
military  supplies  were  formed  under  my  superintendence.  I  have  since  been 
constantly  acquainted  with  him,  and  venture  to  assure  you  that  the  present  improved 
state  of  our  manufactures  is  greatly  indebted  to  his  skill  and  exertions ;  that  though 
a  practical  mechanic,  he  is  also  a  gentleman  of  liberal  education,  a  man  of  science, 
industry  and  integrity,  and  that  his  inventions  and  labors  have  been  as  useful  to 
this  country  as  those  of  any  other  individual.  Moreover,  that  if  any  further 
alterations  or  improvements  in  the  construction  of  military  machines  are  proposed, 
Mr.  Whitney  is  one  of  the  few  men  who  can  safely  and  advantageously  be  consulted, 
respecting  the  best  mode  of  giving  them  eflfect. 

I  make  these  declarations  to  you  with  a  perfect  conviction  that  they  express 
nothing  more  than  Mr.  Whitney  has  a  right  to  demand  from  every  man  who  is 
acquainted  with  his  merits  and  capable  of  estimating  their  value;  and  understanding 
that  he  experiences  some  difficulties  in  regard  to  his  contract,  I  venture  respectfully 
to  request  that  you  would  so  far  extend  to  him  your  favor  as  to  inform  yourself 
particularly  of  the  merits  of  his  case  and  the  services  he  can  perform;  in  which 
case  I  am  certain  he  will  receive  all  the  patronage  and  protection  to  which  he  is 
entitled. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  the  highest  respect,  Sir, 
Your  obedient  servant,  (Signed)  Oliver  Wolcott. 

The  Hon.  Secretary  Armstrong.^* 

He  was  still  engaged  in  the  work  of  manufacturing  arms  near 
New  Haven  when  he  died.  The  city  of  his  education  and  of  his  adop- 
tion honors  him  as  one  of  its  most  eminent  citizens,  and  as  the  founder 
of  its  largest  industry.  It  has  named  after  him  Whitney  Avenue, 
Whitneyville,  and  Lake  Whitney.  His  tombstone  is  in  the  Grove 
Street  Cemetery,  and  contains  a  simple  inscription  referring  to  him 
as  "The  Inventor  of  the  Cotton  Gin.  Of  useful  Science  and  Arts, 
the  efficient  Patron  and  Improver.  In  the  social  relations  of  life,  a 
Model  of  excellence."  An  original  model  of  the  cotton-gin  belongs  to 
his  grandson  in  New  Haven,  and  the  College  has  his  portrait  painted 
by  another  Yale  inventor,  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse  (q.v.)  His  home  is 
still  standing  at  388  Orange  Street,  as  is  also  the  dignified  residence, 
with  its  spacious  grounds,  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Elm  and  Orange 
streets,  which  was  built  in  his  later  years,  but  which  he  never  occupied. 

13  Ibid.,  p.  51. 

[108] 


INVENTORS  AND  ARTISTS— ELI  WHITNEY 

Whitney's  ties  with  Yale  were  many  and  close.  His  partner,  his 
biographer,  his  counsel,  and  many  of  his  best  and  most  influential 
friends,  were  graduates.  That  the  College  believed  in  him  is  shown 
by  an  extract  from  President  Dwight's  letter  to  Hon.  Charles  Cotes- 
worth  Pinckney,  of  South  Carolina,  at  the  time  when  the  inventor 
was  about  to  sell  his  patent  rights  to  that  state.  He  refers  to  him  as 
"a  man  who  has  rarely,  perhaps  never,  been  exceeded  in  ingenuity  or 
industry;  and  not  often  in  worth  of  every  kind.  Every  respectable 
man  in  this  region  will  rejoice  to  see  him  liberally  rewarded  for  so 
useful  an  effort,  and  for  a  life  of  uncommon  benefit  to  the  public."^* 
That  he  believed  in  his  Alma  Mater  was  made  evident  by  his  giving 
her,  in  1823,  five  hundred  dollars,  on  condition  that  the  interest  be 
used  to  buy  for  the  Librar\^  books  on  practical  mechanics,  and  on  the 
mechanical  and  physical  sciences.^^  No  one  would  have  rejoiced  more 
than  he  if  he  had  lived  to  see  the  starting  at  the  University  of  a  depart- 
ment mainly  devoted  to  the  physical,  mathematical,  and  natural 
sciences. 

Of  Whitney's  achievement  there  is  no  difference  of  opinion. 
He  won  an  election  in  the  first  group  chosen  for  the  Hall  of  Fame 
in  New  York,  but  the  South  has  not  shown  him  the  peculiar  honor  he 
deserves.  Monuments  to  General  Lee  and  the  Confederate  Army 
are  countless,  but  Whitney,  the  greatest  benefactor  of  the  Cotton 
States,  has  not  received  any  marked  recognition.  The  value  of  the 
cotton-gin  in  his  own  life-time  is  shown  by  the  simple  statement  that 
the  country's  cotton  crop  increased  from  five  million  pounds,  in  1793, 
to  two  hundred  and  fifty-five  million,  in  1825.''    But  more  important 

14  Ibid.,  p.  54. 

15  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  V,  p.  49. 

16  The  following  table,  prepared  from  facts  given  in  Olmsted's  Memoirs,  p.  73,  shows  in 
the  second  column  the  total  cotton  crop  in  pounds  in  the  year  mentioned,  and  in  the  third 
column  the  amount  exported: 


1793 

5,000,000 

487,600 

1794 

8,000,000 

1,601,760 

1800 

35,000,000 

17,789,803 

1810 

85,000,000 

84,657,384 

1825 

255,000,000 

166,784,629 

Specified  as  including  only  "upland"  cotton. 

[  109  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

than  statistics  are  the  conditions  and  facts  on  which  they  are  based. 
Here  it  may  be  safely  stated  that  it  has  been  given  to  no  single  man 
in  modern  times  to  add  more  to  the  material  prosperity  of  a  nation 
than  did  Whitney  with  his  invention.  We  may  cite  the  testimony  of 
a  great  inventor,  and  of  an  equally  great  historian.  Robert  Fulton 
said  that  Arkwright,  Watt,  and  Whitney  were  the  three  men  who  did 
most  for  mankind  of  any  of  their  contemporaries,^^  while  Macaulay's 
impressive  words  may  well  be  used  to  close  this  sketch:  "What  Peter 
the  Great  did  to  make  Russia  dominant,  Eli  Whitnej^'s  invention  of 
the  cotton-gin  has  more  than  equalled  in  its  relation  to  the  power  and 
progress  of  the  United  States. "^^ 


Mr.  Josiah  Whitney 
Sir 

You  are  hereby  empower'd  to  give  lisence  for  the  construction  or  use  of 
Machin's  for  gining  Cotton  on  the  same  principles  for  which  we  have  obtain'd 
an  exclusive  right  under  a  patent  from  the  United  States  on  the  following 
terms — for  the  construction  of  a  Gin  and  a  right  to  Use  it  for  nine  Years  from 
last  Nov^.  we  shall  ask  four  hundred  Dollars  provided  the  Gin  be  capable  of 
Cleaning  not  more  than  two  hundred  weight  p^  Day  if  it  exceeds  that  amount 
price  to  be  in  proportion — for  the  right  to  use  a  gin  of  the  same  sise  and  con- 
struction provided  we  make  and  furnish  it  we  shall  require  the  sum  of  five 
hundred  Dollars  the  one  half  being  paid  doAvn  in  either  of  the  two  cases  the 
term  of  one  Year  may  be  given  for  the  other  half — for  person  who  have  already 
trespased  on  our  patent  right  by  using  Gin's  constructed  on  the  same  principles 
of  our's  we  shall  consent  to  accept  an  indemnity  if  early  application  be  made 
at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  dollars  in  Money  for  each  Year  that  such  gin  of  the 
sise  before  mention'd  has  been  employed  and  shall  give  an  exemption  in  such 

case   from   the   penalty   of  the  law in   preference   to   giving   certificate 

youi'self  of  any  of  these  privileges  of  our  patent  right  we  shall  wish  you  to 
communicate  to  us  your  terms  of  agreement  with  any  person  on  the  subject 
which  we  shall  sanction  by  furnishing  immediately  the  necessary  certificate — 

We  are  your  friends  &  Obed  Servants 

Miller  &  Whitney — 
Uptons  Creek  Jany  8*^  1799— 

1"  Olmsted,  Memoirs  of  Eli  Whitney,  p.  63. 

18  Quoted  from  MacCracken,  The  Hall  of  Fame,  p.  192. 

[110] 


INVENTORS  AND  ARTISTS— ELI  WHITNEY 

This  is  a  firm  letter,  but,  including  the  signature,  it  is  entirely 
in  Whitney's  handwriting.  It  does  little  credit  to  his  rhetoric,  but  it 
may  be  easily  understood,  if,  in  reading,  each  dash  ( — )  is  considered 
as  beginning  a  new  paragraph. 

The  partnership  of  Miller  &  Whitney  was  formed  in  1793. 
Phineas  Miller  was  a  Yale  graduate  (B.A.  1785),  and  a  Georgia 
planter,  who  married  the  widow  of  Nathanael  Greene,  the  distin- 
guished general  of  the  Revolution.  He  was  sanguine  of  the  success 
of  Whitney's  invention,  and  advanced  considerable  money  to  help  him 
perfect  the  machine  and  secure  a  patent,  with  a  duly  formed  agree- 
ment "that  the  profits  and  advantages  arising  there  from,  as  well  as 
all  privileges  and  emoluments  to  be  derived  from  patenting,  making, 
vending,  and  working  the  same,  should  be  mutually  and  equally  shared 
between  them."^"  The  patent  rights  which  are  offered  in  the  letter  to 
Eli  Whitney's  brother,  Josiah  Whitnej^  of  Boston,  were  based  on 
the  United  States  patent  issued  March  4,  1794. 

As  this  business  document  does  not  contain  Whitney's  full  signa- 
ture, a  letter  of  his  under  date  of  February  16,  1809,  is  added.  It  is 
addressed  to  Hon.  Jonathan  Sturges  (B.A.  1759),  regarding  a 
machine  for  churning  butter. 

19  Olmsted,  Memoirs  of  Eli  Whitney,  p.  15. 


[Ill] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Samuel  Finley  Breese  Morse 
Class  of  1810 

Born,  April  27,  1791;  Died,  April  2,  1872 
Inventor  of  the  Electric  Telegraph,  and  Artist 

S.  F.  B.  Morse  is  in  the  forefront  of  the  world's  great  inventors 
of  all  ages.  The  study  of  his  life,  with  special  reference  to  tracing 
the  early  roots  of  his  ideas,  and  of  the  influences  exerted  upon  him, 
will  show  that  Yale  men  have  a  right  to  take  special  pride  in  his 
achievements.  He  was  born  in  Charlestown,  Massachusetts,  the  son 
of  Rev.  Jedidiah  Morse  (q.v.),  well  known  as  "the  Father  of 
American  Geography,"  and  one  of  the  most  indefatigable  workers 
for  religion  and  education  in  his  generation.  His  interest  in  science 
was  one  of  the  factors  which  influenced  the  son's  career.  The  parents 
had  eleven  children,  eight  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  while  the  three 
surviving  sons,  of  whom  Samuel  was  the  eldest,  were  graduated  from 
Yale  in  successive  years.  Morse  entered  college  after  the  catalogue 
of  the  members  of  the  Freshman  class  was  published  in  the  fall  of 
1806.  His  classmates  considered  him  a  man  of  character,  judgment, 
and  ability,  although  he  was  not  distinguished  for  scholarship.  The 
first  interesting  glimpse  that  we  get  of  him  is  in  Sophomore  year, 
when  he  was  chosen  by  his  class  to  be  on  a  committee  to  settle 
difficulties  at  Commons.    He  wrote : 

We  had  a  new  affair  here  a  few  days  ago.  The  college  cooks  were  arraigned 
before  the  tribunal  of  the  students,  consisting  of  a  committee  of  four  from  each 
class  in  college;  I  was  chosen  as  one  of  the  committee  from  the  Sophomore  class. 
We  sent  for  two  of  the  worst  cooks,  and  were  all  Saturday  afternoon  in  trying  them; 
found  them  guilty  of  several  charges,  such  as  being  insolent  to  the  students,  not 
exerting  themselves  to  cook  clean  for  us,  in  concealing  pies  which  belonged  to  the 
students,  having  suppers  at  midnight,  and  inviting  all  their  neighbors  and  friends 
to  sup  with  them  at  the  expense  of  the  students  and  this  not  once  in  a  while,  but 

almost   every   night The   committee,   after   arranging   the    charges    in   their 

proper  order,  presented  them  to  the  president;  he  has  had  the  authorities  together, 
and  they  are  now  considering  the  subject.    This  afternoon,  Tuesday,  December  29th, 

[112] 


INVENTORS  AND  ARTISTS— SAMUEL  F.  B.  MORSE 

they  have  been  together,  and  I,  with  many  others,  have  been  with  them  all  the 
afternoon;  there  was  no  recitation  at  four  o'clock,  they  were  so  busily  engaged.^ 

This  experience  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  invention  of  the 
telegraph,  but  every  college  man  who  looks  back  on  his  own  under- 
graduate days,  knows  that  responsible  committee  work,  when  not 
overdone,  has  an  important  educational  influence.  It  makes  a  great 
inventor  seem  very  modern  when  we  find  him  serving,  as  Morse  did, 
as  a  manager  of  the  Commencement  Ball,  and  very  human  when  we 
read  in  the  Faculty  records:  '"Voted  that  Morse  of  the  Junior  class, 
for  disrespectful  language  to  the  officers  of  this  College  receive  his 
first  warning."^ 

The  leading  factors  in  his  development  at  Yale  were  personal. 
Three  men  on  the  Faculty  left  their  definite  impress  upon  him: 
President  Dwight,  and  more  especially,  Professors  Day  and  Silliman. 
Dwight's  influence  was  general  and  showed  itself  in  the  strengthening 
of  character  and  of  mental  habits,  whereas  his  two  associates,  both 
teaching  science,  gave  him  in  germ  the  knowledge  of  those  secrets 
which  he  was  to  develop,  and  to  make  of  broad  service  to  mankind. 
Professor  Silliman  made  the  following  statement  as  to  the  instruction 
bearing  on  electricity,  which  he  gave  to  the  Class  of  1810: 

S.  F.  B.  Morse  was  an  attendant  on  my  lectures  in  the  years  1808,  1809,  and 
1810.  I  delivered  lectures  on  chemistry  and  galvanic  electricity.  The  batteries 
then  in  use  were  the  pile  of  Volta,  the  battery  of  Cruikshanks,  and  the  Couronne 
des  tasses,  well  known  to  the  cultivators  of  that  branch  of  science.  /  always 
exhibited  these  batteries  to  my  classes;  they  were  dissected  before  them,  and  their 
members  and  the  arrangement  of  the  parts,  and  the  mode  of  exciting  them,  were 
always  shown.^ 

Professor    Day's    statement,    also    prepared    to    help    substantiate 

Morse's  claim  to  priority  of  invention  of  the  telegraph,  by  showing 

when  and  how  his  mind  was  first  directed  to  the  study  of  electricity, 

was  as  follows: 

In  my  lectures  on  Natural  Philosophy,  the  subject  of  electricity  was  specially 
illustrated  and  experimented  upon.     Enfield's  work  was  the  text-book.     The  terms 

1  Prime,  Life  of  Morse,  p.  17. 

2  MS.  Records  of  the  Faculty  of  Yale  College,  for  August  4,  1809. 

3  Prime,  Life  of  Morse,  p.  20. 

[113] 


MEINIORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

of  the  21st  Proposition  of  Book  V.  of  "Enfield's  Philosophy,"  are  these:  "If  the 
circuit  be  interrupted,  the  fluid  will  become  visible,  and  when  it  passes  it  will  leave 
an  impression  upon  any  intermediate  body."  I  lectured  upon  and  illustrated  the 
first  two  experiments  propounded  by  the  21st  Proposition,  and  I  recollect  the  fact 
with  certainty,  by  memoranda  now  in  my  possession.  The  experiments  referred 
to  are  in  terms  as  follows: 

Experiment  1st.  Let  the  fluid  pass  through  a  chain,  or  through  any  metallic 
bodies,  placed  at  small  distances  from  each  other,  the  fluid  in  a  dark  room  will  be 
visible  between  the  links  of  the  chain,  or  between  the  metallic  bodies. 

Experiment  2d.  If  the  circuit  be  interrupted  by  several  folds  of  paper,  a 
perforation  will  be  made  through  it,  and  each  of  the  leaves  will  be  protruded  by 
the  stroke  from  the  middle  to  the  outward  leaves.* 

In  a  letter  written  in  1867,  Morse  acknowledged  that  these 
experiments  first  gave  him  the  key  to  his  later  invention:  "The  fact 
that  the  presence  of  electricitj'^  can  be  made  visible  in  any  desired  part 
of  the  circuit  was  the  crude  seed  that  took  root  in  my  mind,  and  grew 
up  into  form,  and  ripened  into  the  invention  of  the  Telegraph."^ 

That  these  lectures  by  Professor  Day  interested  him  at  the  time 
is  further  shown  by  this  letter  written  in  1809: 

Mr.  Day's  lectures  are  very  interesting;  they  are  upon  electricity;  he  has  given 
us  some  very  fine  experiments,  the  whole  class,  taking  hold  of  hands,  form  the 
circuit  of  communication,  and  we  all  received  the  shock  apparently  at  the  same 
moment.  I  never  took  an  electric  shock  before;  it  felt  as  if  some  person  had  struck 
me  a  slight  blow  across  the  arms.** 

To  establish  beyond  question  the  point  that  Professors  Day  and 
Silliman,  in  their  lectures  and  experiments,  laid  the  foundations  of 
the  knowledge  which  made  possible  Morse's  later  invention,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  quote  from  his  letter  written  in  the  summer  of  1846  to 
President  Day: 

Permit  me  to  return,  through  you,  my  sincere  thanks  to  the  honorable  corpora- 
tion for  the  high  honor  they  have  conferred  upon  me  at  the  late  commencement,  in 
bestowing  upon  me  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws.  I  esteem  it  doubly  valuable  as 
emanating  from  my  much-loved  and  venerated  alma  mater.  In  the  success  with 
which  it  has  pleased  God  to  crown  my  telegraphic  invention,  it  is  not  the  least 
gratifying  circumstance  that  you  consider  the  invention  as  reflecting  credit  on  my 
collegiate  instruction,  and  I  may  therefore  say  that,  in  reviewing  the  mental  processes 

*  Ibid.,  p.  19. 
5  Ibid.,  p.  19. 
8  Appleton,  American  Biography,  Vol.  II,  p.  424. 

[114] 


INVENTORS  AND  ARTISTS— SAMUEL  F.  B.  MORSE 

by  which  I  arrived  at  the  final  result,  I  can  distinctly  trace  them  back  to  their 
incipiency,  in  the  lessons  of  my  esteemed  instructors  in  natural  philosophy  and  in 
chemistry.  Later  developments  in  electro-magnetism  in  the  lectures  of  Professor 
J.  F.  Dana  were,  indeed,  the  more  immediate  sources  whence  I  drew  much  of  my 
material,  but  this  was  dependent  for  its  efficacy  on  my  earlier  college  instruction.'^ 

Morse  worked  his  way  through  college  largely  by  painting.  He 
charged  five  dollars  for  a  miniature  on  ivory,  and  one  dollar  for  a 
simple  profile.    He  seems  to  have  carried  on  a  flourishing  business. 

The  twenty  years  of  his  life  after  receiving  his  degree  were 
almost  entirely  devoted  to  art.  He  has  become  so  famous  as  an 
inventor  that  his  work  as  a  portrait  painter  is  apt  to  be  overlooked. 
It  is  interesting  to  remember  that  the  inventor  of  the  telegraph  and 
the  inventor  of  the  steamboat — Robert  Fulton — both  began  their 
careers  as  artists.  Morse  studied  under  Washington  Allston  (whose 
well-known  work,  Jeremiah,  he  later  presented  to  the  Yale  School 
of  the  Fine  Arts)  and  accompanied  him  to  London,  where  his  studies 
were  continued  under  Benjamin  West.  He  was  soon  exhibiting  at 
the  Royal  Academy,  and  was  beginning  to  make  his  reputation  as  a 
portrait  painter.  Five  examples  of  his  work  belong  to  the  University, 
including  the  well-known  portraits  of  Eli  Whitney  and  of  Chancellor 
Kent,  reproduced  in  these  volumes.  He  had  studios  at  Boston  and 
later  at  Charleston,  but  it  was  with  New  York  City  that  he  was 
most  intimately  connected.  There  he  took  a  leading  place  in 
art  circles,  and  had  the  honor  of  being  elected  the  first  President 
of  the  National  Academy  of  Design.  The  important  part  which  he 
played  in  our  art  history  is  well  brought  out  in  such  an  authoritative 
work  as  Isham's  History  of  American  Painting.  The  author  laments 
Morse's  turning  from  painting  to  invention,  and  continues : 

It  was  a  serious  loss,  for  Morse,  without  being  a  genius,  was  yet  perhaps  better 
calculated  than  another  to  give  in  pictures  the  spirit  of  the  difficult  times  from  1830 

to  1860 Working  as  he  did  under  widely  varying  conditions,  his  paintings 

are  dissimilar  not  only  in  merit  but  in  method  of  execution;  even  his  portraits  vary 
from  thin,  free  handling  to  solid  impasto.  Yet  in  the  best  of  them  there  is  a  real 
painter's  feeling  for  his  material,  the  heads  have  a  soundness  of  construction  and 

7  Prime,  Life  of  Morse,  p.  604.     Original  among  manuscripts  in  University  Library. 

[  115  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

a  freshness  in  the  carnations  that  recall  Raeburn  rather  than  West;  the  poses  are 
graceful  or  interesting,  the  costumes  are  skilfully  arranged,  and  in  addition  he 
understands  perfectly  the  character  of  his  sitters,  the  men  and  women  of  the 
transition  period,  shrewd,  capable,  but  rather  commonplace,  without  the  ponderous 
dignity  of  Copley's  subjects  or  the  cosmopolitan  graces  of  a  later  day.* 

But  some  lectures  by  Professor  James  F.  Dana  on  electro- 
magnetism,  which  he  heard  in  the  years  1826  and  1827,  at  the  New 
York  Athenaeum,  turned  his  thoughts  from  art  to  science.  They 
reawakened,  and  gave  new  significance  to  his  undergraduate  interest 
in  electricity.  Five  years  later,  in  Paris,  Fenimore  Cooper  records 
that  Morse  "communicated  to  us  his  ideas  on  the  subject  of  using 
the  electric  spark  by  way  of  a  telegraph."^  In  October,  1832,  in 
conversation  with  another  friend,  on  an  Atlantic  steamer,  he  said: 
"If  the  presence  of  electricity  can  be  made  visible  in  any  part  of  the 
circuit,  I  see  no  reason  why  intelligence  may  not  be  transmitted 

instantaneously  by  electricity If  it  can  go  ten  miles  without 

stopping,  I  can  make  it  go  around  the  globe.'""  The  idea  gripped 
his  mind,  and  before  leaving  shipboard  he  had  devised  the  dot-and- 
dash  system,  now  universally  known  and  used  as  the  "Morse 
alphabet,"  and  had  drawn  plans  for  the  transmitting  and  recording 
instruments.  But  to  complete  satisfactorily  the  working  models, 
and  to  overcome  all  obstacles,  required  years  of  hard  labor  and  of 
real  consecration  to  the  cause.  From  now  on  the  perfection  of  the 
telegraph  became  his  absorbing  passion,  and  the  teaching^^  and 
practice  of  art  merely  a  means  of  support.  In  1837  he  had  taken 
out  his  first  papers  at  the  Patent  Office,  and  had  appHed  for  a 
congressional  grant  to  aid  in  developing  his  invention.  There  were 
exasperating  delays,  in  which  time  his  European  rivals,  especially 
Wheatstone  in  England,  and  Steinheil  in  Bavaria,  with  substantial 
aid  from  their  governments,  were  pressing  forward  their  experiments, 

8  Isham,  History  of  American  Painting,  p.  129. 

9  Appleton,  American  Biography,  Vol.  IV,  p.  425. 

10  Ibid.,  p.  425. 

11  He  was  elected  Professor  of  Painting  and  Sculpture  in  the  University  of  the  City  of 
New  York,  in  1835. 

[116] 


INVENTORS  AND  ARTISTS— SAMUEL  F.  B.  MORSE 

while  he  was  working  almost  unaided,  and  often  struggling  with  real 
poverty.  In  1842,  Congress  finally  voted  thirty  thousand  dollars 
to  advance  his  work,  and  in  1844,  after  unsuccessful  experiments  with 
underground  wires  in  leaden  pipes,  a  pole  telegraph  line  from 
Washington  to  Baltimore  was  completed.  On  May  24  the  first 
formal  message,  "What  hath  God  wrought,""  was  transmitted,  and 
two  days  later  public  men  in  Congress  were  astonished  at  receiving, 
before  the  arrival  of  trains,  information  of  the  doings  of  the  National 
Democratic  Convention  in  Baltimore.  Morse  offered  his  telegraph  to 
the  government  for  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  offer  was 
declined,  although,  under  private  enterprise,  lines  were  soon  erected 
all  over  the  country.  These  almost  all  adopted  the  Morse  system. 
In  1869  the  Western  Union  Company  stated  that  "it  is  used  at  the 
present  time  upon  more  than  ninety-five  per  cent  of  all  the  telegraph 
lines  in  existence."^^  His  triumph  was  the  result  of  unceasing  toil 
in  his  own  experiments,  and  in  fighting  persistently  the  false  claims 
of  others,  until  finall}^  he  was  able  to  get  a  unanimous  verdict  of  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court,  recognizing  him  as  the  inventor  of 
the  electro-magnetic  recording  telegraph.  It  was  also  his  experi- 
ments with  a  cable  between  Castle  Garden  and  Governor's  Island 
in  New  York  harbor  that  first  established  the  practicability  of 
submarine  telegraphy. 

Such  is  the  story,  in  brief,  of  the  life  struggle  and  achievement 
of  Morse.  Fortunately,  during  his  later  years,  he  reaped  the  rewards 
of  his  labor.  He  lived  in  comfort  and  received  the  homage  of  the 
world,  conscious  of  the  service  he  had  been  permitted  to  render  it. 
Yale  gave  him  the  Doctorate  of  Laws  in  1846.  In  1851  he  received 
a  gold  medal  from  Prussia.  In  1855  the  Emperor  of  Austria  sent 
him  the  Medal  of  Science  and  Art.  In  the  next  year,  Alexander 
Humboldt  stated  that  his  "philosophic  and  useful  labors  have 
rendered  his  name  illustrious  in  two  worlds,"  and  Spain  gave  him 

12  Numbers,  XXIII,  23. 

13  Appleton,  American  Biography,  Vol.  IV,  p.  427. 

[117] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

the  honor  of  knighthood;  while  in  1858  Napoleon  III  called  a 
convention  of  representatives  of  European  states  to  decide  upon  some 
form  of  collective  testimonial  to  him,  with  the  result  that  a  vote  of 
four  hundred  thousand  francs  was  passed.  These  are  merely 
suggestive  of  his  almost  countless  honors.  Perhaps  the  most 
significant  was  the  unusual  action  of  the  American  Congress  in 
passing  these  concurrent  resolutions: 

Congress  has  heard  with  profound  regret  of  the  death  of  Professor  Morse, 
whose  distinguished  and  varied  abilities  have  contributed  more  than  those  of  any 
other  person  to  the  development  and  the  progress  of  the  practical  arts.  At  the 
same  time  his  purity  of  private  life,  his  loftiness  of  scientific  aims,  and  his  resolute 
faith  in  truth,  render  it  highly  proper  that  the  Representatives  and  Senators  should 
solemnly  testify  to  his  worth  and  greatness.^* 

Invention  was  his  main  field,  with  art  as  an  important  subsidiary 
interest.  He  was  also  a  writer  of  occasional  articles,  especially  on 
what  he  believed  to  be  the  danger  to  American  institutions  from  the 
spread  of  Roman  Catholicism. 

He  was  a  man  of  striking  and  attractive  personality  and  of  fine 
presence.  His  character  was  strong  and  dignified,  his  conversation 
interesting,  his  mind  resourceful.  He  was  the  soul  of  loyalty,  always 
true  to  his  friends,  his  country,  his  University,  his  ideals,  and  his 
work.  As  a  result  of  his  genius  and  of  his  persistency,  he  shares  with 
Fulton  the  honor  of  being  America's  greatest  inventor.  We  now 
take  the  telegraph  for  granted  as  though  it  had  always  existed,  little 
realizing  that  it  represents  the  struggles  through  many  generations 
of  many  men,  reaching  their  completion  and  fruition  in  Morse's 
arduous  labors. 

His  paintings  are  unfortunately  his  only  Yale  memorial.  This 
is  to  be  specially  regretted  as  he  showed  his  loyalty  to  his  Alma  Mater 
in  many  ways,  including  the  giving  of  ten  thousand  dollars  towards 
the  erection  of  Edwards  Hall  in  the  Divinity  School.  His  biography 
has  been  exhaustively  presented  in  The  Life  of  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse 
by  Samuel  Irenaeus  Prime.     It  is  understood  that  another  Hfe  is  in 

1*  Quoted  from  MacCracken,  The  Hall  of  Fame,  p.  198. 

[118] 


INVENTORS  AND  ARTISTS— SAMUEL  F.  B.  MORSE 

course  of  preparation  by  the  inventor's  son,  the  artist,  Edward  L. 
Morse  (B.A.  1878). 


Paris,  10  Avenue  du  Roi  de  Rome 
April  12th.  1867.— 
My  dear  Sir, 

I  have  kept  this  sheet  open,  till  the  last  moment,  in  the  hope  to  receive 
the  documents  you  mention  in  your  letter  to  M^.  Goodrich,  and  that  I  might 
be  able  to  acknowledge  their  reception ;  but  as  they  have  not  yet  arrived,  I 
will  not  wait,  but  hasten  to  give  you  a  copy  of  the  Marquis  Moustiers  letter 
so  characteristically  supposed  to  be  a  love  letter  by  the  Irish  servant  girl  and 
so  unromantically  consigned  to  the  flames. 

It  is  not  easy  to  understand  just  now  the  complications  in  the  politics 
of  Europe,  and  to  form  a  judgment  of  the  prospects  of  the  success  of  our 
proposition  to  the  Emperor,  but  the  turn  matters  have  taken  at  Washington 
on  this  subject  inspires  a  hope  that  it  is  a  more  favorable  position  than  when 
we  first  introduced  it  to  His  Imperial  Majesty's  notice.  We  must  wait. 
Nous  verrons. 

In  haste  but  with  respect  &  esteem 
Y^  friend  &  Servt 

Sam^.  F.  B.  Morse 
Dr.  E.  H.  Champlin. 

The  attached  copy  of  the  letter  in  French  from  the  Marquis 
Moustier,  who  was  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  from  1866  to  1868, 
shows  that  Morse  had  proposed  that  the  Emperor  call  a  scientific 
congress.  The  Minister  states  that  His  Majesty  has  read  with 
interest  "le  remarquable  Memoire"  addressed  to  him  but  regrets  that 
he  does  not  think  the  time  opportune  for  the  gathering,  owing  to  the 
preoccupation  of  the  public  in  the  1867  Exposition. 

This  letter  was  written  at  the  height  of  his  fame.  His  biographer 
tells  us  that  during  this  summer  in  Paris  the  French  Emperor  omitted 
no  opportunit}'^  to  do  him  honor,  and  that  at  court  functions  the 
Morses  were  placed  with  the  royal  family  and  the  diplomatic  corps.^^ 

15  Prime,  Life  of  S.  F.  B.  Morse,  p.  701. 


[119] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Eli  Whitney  Blake 
Class  of  1816 

Born,  January  27,  1795;  Died,  August  18,  1886 
Inventor  of  the  Stone-Breaker,  and  Student  of  Aerodynamics 

Few  inventions  of  modern  times,  that  have  not  been  of  a 
sensational  character  like  the  telegraph,  have  done  more  to  advance 
the  cause  of  civilization  than  the  "Blake  Stone-Breaker,"  now 
universally  used,  in  one  form  or  another,  in  highroad  and  railroad 
construction.  It  seems  so  simple  a  mechanical  device,  is  so  taken  for 
granted  as  a  necessity  by  engineers,  and  is  manufactured  (since  the 
expiration  of  the  patent)  under  so  many  different  names,  that  the 
fame  of  the  inventor  has  been  discounted.  Eli  Whitney  (q.v.)  is 
known  to  every  educated  man  in  the  country  as  the  inventor  of  the 
cotton-gin,  but  probably  not  one  in  a  hundred  is  aware  that  his  nephew 
invented  a  device  of  almost  equal  significance,  and  of  much  more 
universal  application. 

Mr.  Blake  was  born  in  Westboro,  Massachusetts,  and  was 
educated  at  the  Leicester  Academy.  He  was  supported  as  an  under- 
graduate by  his  uncle,  after  whom  he  was  named,  and  his  course  was 
marked  by  high  scholarship.  The  opinion  of  the  student  community 
regarding  his  scientific  ability  is  shown  by  his  selection  by  the  Phi 
Beta  Kappa  Society  "to  deliver  a  dissertation  on  some  Philosophical 
subject.'"  The  subject  which  he  chose  was  Saturn's  Ring,  which 
he  tried  to  explain  by  natural  causes.  The  records  state  that  his 
presentation  was  very  "ingenious."  His  most  intimate  college  friend 
was  his  classmate,  Henry  Taj^lor,  later  judge  of  the  New  York 
Supreme  Court.  The  bond  between  them  was  so  close  that  the 
inventor's  son,  Henry  T.  Blake  (B.A.  1848),  famous  in  college 
annals  as  the  founder  of  the  Wooden  Spoon  Exhibition,  was  named 
after  him.    The  "scheme"  of  exercises  for  the  Junior  Exhibition  shows 

1  MS.  Records  Phi  Beta  Kappa,  August  21,  1815,  and  December  7,  1815. 

[120] 


INVENTORS  AND  ARTISTS— ELI  WHITNEY  BLAKE 

the  father  playing  Achmet  in  Percival's  Tragedy  of  the  Captive, 
and  delivering  an  oration  on  "Genius."  At  Commencement  he  had 
an  Oration  appointment,  his  subject  being  "Sensibility."  He  also 
took  part  in  a  dialogue,  "on  the  Force  of  Flattery." 

After  graduation  he  studied  law  under  Judge  Gould  (q.v.)  at 
Litchfield,  but  soon  accepted  the  offer  of  Eli  Whitney,  to  help  him 
in  organizing  and  equipping  his  gun  factory  at  Whitneyville.  Here 
he  made  important  mechanical  improvements,  including  a  device  for 
polishing  gun  barrels  by  a  combined  spiral  and  longitudinal  motion, 
which  entirely  superseded  the  older  methods.  After  Mr.  Whitney's 
death,  Mr.  Blake  was  joined  by  his  two  brothers,  and  Blake 
Brothers'  Westville  factory  became  a  center  for  the  display  of 
Yankee  ingenuity.  Connecticut's  reputation,  which  has  continued 
to  this  day,  of  being,  in  proportion  to  its  population,  the  home  of  more 
inventors  than  any  other  state  in  the  LTnion,  received  a  great  stimulus 
from  their  work.  Door  locks,  hinges,  casters,  latches,  and  other 
articles  of  household  hardware,  were  their  specialt}^  Most  of  these 
were  covered  by  their  patents,  and  were  in  use  throughout  the  country. 

In  1851,  Mr.  Blake  was  appointed  by  the  town  of  New  Haven 
one  of  a  committee  to  construct  about  two  miles  of  macadam 
road  leading  out  Whalley  Avenue  to  Westville.  This  apparently 
unimportant  appointment  proved  the  turning  point  in  his  career. 
According  to  liis  own  sworn  statement  to  the  Commissioner  of 
Patents,  there  were  probably  at  that  time  not  over  twelve  miles  of 
macadam  in  all  New  England,  and  no  way  of  breaking  stone  into 
small  fragments  was  known,  except  by  the  slow  and  laborious  use 
of  the  hand  hammer.  He  adds :  "The  importance  of  a  machine  to  do 
the  work  became  immediately  obvious  and  from  that  time  for  a 
period  of  seven  years,  scarcely  a  day,  or  an  hour,  passed  in  which  my 
mind  was  not  mainly  occupied  with  the  subject.""  In  1858  the  patent 
was  duly  issued.    Mr.  Blake's  scientific  knowledge  was  so  thorough 

2  From  Mr.  Henry  T.  Blake's  paper  read  before  the  New  Haven  Colony  Historical  Society 
in  1908. 

[121] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

that  he  was  able  to  calculate  and  plan  exactly  every  feature  on  paper. 
The  first  model  worked  perfectly.  The  essential  characteristic  of  the 
machine  was  a  pair  of  massive,  upright  iron  jaws  converging  down- 
wards, one  jaw  having  a  short,  powerful,  vibratory  motion,  sufficient 
to  crush  trap-rock  by  the  pressure  of  twenty-seven  thousand  pounds 
to  the  square  inch.  The  opening  at  the  top  was  large  enough  to 
receive  the  rocks  to  be  broken,  whereas  the  lower  opening  was  so 
small  as  to  prevent  the  passage  of  any  stone  too  large  for  the  required 
purpose.  That,  in  brief,  is  the  Blake  stone-crusher.  Like  most  great 
inventions,  its  essential  simplicity  is  noticeable. 

The  coming  on  of  the  Civil  War,  and  other  causes,  interfered 
with  internal  development  during  the  sixties,  but  when  Mr.  Blake 
applied  for  a  renewal  of  his  patent,  in  1872,  after  a  decade's  use,  he 
estimated  that  the  five  hundred  and  nine  machines  in  the  country  had 
saved  at  least  $55,560,000!  In  his  address  before  the  New  Haven 
Colony  Historical  Society,  on  the  semi-centennial  of  the  stone- 
crusher,  the  inventor's  son  showed  that  the  macadamized  roads  of 
the  country  had  increased  from  fifty  to  tliirty-eight  thousand  six 
hundred  and  twenty-two  miles  in  extent.  For  this  Eli  Whitney 
Blake's  invention  is  to  be  mainly  thanked.  Another  of  its  services 
has  been  the  making  possible  of  the  use  of  stone  ballast  for  railroad 
tracks,  instead  of  earth;  thereby  effecting  an  immense  saving  in  the 
cost  of  maintenance  both  of  the  road  and  of  its  rolling  stock,  and 
adding  greatly  to  the  comfort  of  passengers.  The  linen  duster  is 
fortunately  no  longer  an  indispensable  accompaniment  of  American 
railway  travel.  The  "breaker's"  use  in  mining  has  also  increased  the 
production  of  ores,  and  effected  enormous  savings  in  the  cost  of 
operating  mines,  while  the  modern  employment  of  concrete  has  been 
aided  by  it. 

Like  the  greatest  inventors,  he  was  a  thorough  man  of  science. 
He  served  as  President  of  the  Connecticut  Academy  of  Arts  and 
Sciences,  and  contributed  papers  to  Silliman's  Journal.  Of  these 
the  most  important  were  reprinted  in  a  volume  entitled  Original 

[122] 


INVENTORS  AND  ARTISTS— ELI  WHITNEY  BLAKE 

Solutions  of  Several  Problems  in  Aerodynamics.  One  of  the  earliest 
of  these,  "On  the  Flow  of  Elastic  Fluids  through  Orifices,"  pro- 
nounced for  the  first  time  a  theory  of  some  significance.  It  was 
believed  in  England  that  the  distinguished  engineer,  Robert  D. 
Napier,  was  the  discoverer  of  the  theoretical  law  involved,  but  in 
1875  he  wrote  Mr.  Blake  a  letter  acknowledging  the  latter 's  prior 
claims : 

In  1866  I  published  my  views  about  the  flow  of  steam,  with  the  results  of 
experiments,  and  was  not  aware,  till  several  years  afterwards,  that  you  had  published 
the  self-same  views  more  than  eighteen  years  before  me.  I  have  no  doubt  that  you, 
with  comparatively  few  experiments  to  support  you,  would  find,  if  possible,  more 
difficulty  than  I  did  to  convince  any  one  of  the  truth  of  your  views.  I  think  I  may 
safely  say  that  I  should  to  this  date  hardly  have  convinced  any  one  had  not  Professor 
Rankin  come  to  my  rescue  by  writing  papers  in  The  Engineer,  in  November  and 
December,  1869,  and  now,  through  that,  I  understand  that  our  views  are  accepted 
generally  in  Germany,  and  among  a  number  of  mathematicians  of  the  first  class  in 
Britain.  I  thought  you  would  like  to  see  that  at  least  you  were  not  quite  forgotten 
in  the  thing.^ 

These  theoretical  studies  showed  the  brilliancj^  of  his  intellectual 
powers,  but  it  was  their  successful  application  to  the  prosaic  and 
practical  problem  of  breaking  stone  that  should  make  Blake 
remembered,  especially  in  the  University  near  which  his  life  was 
passed,  and  with  whose  scientific  men  he  always  kept  in  close  touch. 
His  name  has  not  been  sufficiently  honored,  in  view  of  the  far- 
reaching  effect  of  his  invention  as  almost  a  necessary  condition 
precedent  to  such  enterprises  as  good  roads,  transcontinental 
railways,  and  the  Panama  Canal.  Fortunately,  his  Alma  IMater  was 
not  unappreciative.  She  conferred  upon  him,  in  1879,  the  Doctorate 
of  liaws,  while  his  name  is  perpetuated  at  the  Universitj^  by  the  Eli 
Whitney  Blake  Stone-Breaker  Prize,  founded  by  his  son,  in  1902. 
It  is  "awarded  to  the  author  of  any  treatise  deemed  worthy  of  such 
award  on  some  subject  connected  with  Mining,  Civil  Engineering 
or  Mechanical  Engineering,  and  preferably  with   some  branch   of 

3  Kingsley,  Yale  College,  Vol.  I,  p.  408.  Mr.  Blake  was  also  the  first,  according  to 
Professor  Silliman,  to  propose  and  support  scientifically  the  theory  that  violent  sounds  are 
more  quickly  propagated  than  quiet  ones.    Ibid.,  pp.  408,  409. 

[  123  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

those  pursuits  in  which  the  use  of  broken  stone  or  ores,  or  machinery 
connected  therewith,  is  an  important  feature."*  The  prize,  which  is 
given  annually,  consists  of  "not  less  than  fifty  dollars." 

The  best  account  of  Mr.  Blake's  career  is  given  in  the  papers 
read  by  his  son  before  the  New  Haven  Colony  Historical  Society, 
in  1908-1909. 


New  Haven  September  3^^/68 
A  Webster  Esqr 
Dear  Sir 

Our  firm  (Blake,  Brothers)  desires  to  make  a  present  of  a  watch  of  the 
value  of  $250  to  our  agent  who  is  manufacturing  our  Stone  Breakers 
in  England. — I  think  he  will  take  much  pride  &  satisfaction  in  showing  a  good 
watch  of  your  manufacture  in  that  country. — May  I  ask  you  to  prepare  one 
and  forward  it  to  me  with  your  bill  for  the  same  by  the  23^.  Instant  as  I  have 
a  private  opportunity  to  send  it  on  the  25*^. — 

Yours  truly 

Eli  W.  Blake 

This  letter  is  interesting  as  early  evidence  of  the  international 
use  of  the  stone-breaker.  As  it  is  only  a  letter-book  press  copy,  the 
original  agreement  of  Blake  Brothers  with  Henry  Rowland  Marsden, 
in  Eli  Whitney  Blake's  handwriting,  is  added.  Mr.  Marsden,  who  is 
the  English  agent  referred  to  in  the  letter,  was  a  Westville  mechanic 
who  became  Mayor  of  Leeds,  England. 

4  Yale  University  Catalogue  for  1912-1913,  p.  359. 


[  124  ] 


III.     SUPPLEMENTARY  NAMES 


Junius  Smith  (B.A.  1802),  Born,  1780;  Died,  1853. 

Smith  was  not,  strictly  speaking,  an  inventor,  but  he  was  the  pioneer 
in  the  closely  related  field  of  trans-Atlantic  navigation.  After  varied  successes 
in  law  and  commerce,  he  began,  in  1832,  to  devote  himself  in  earnest  to  the 
problem  of  establishing  a  line  of  steamers  between  England  and  the  United 
States.  He  was  at  first  considered  an  impractical  dreamer,  but  after  several 
years  of  persistent  effort  he  organized  the  British  and  American  Steam 
Navigation  Company.  On  April  23,  1838,  its  "Sirius,"  the  first  vessel  to 
go  by  steam  alone  across  the  Atlantic,  reached  New  York,  and  the  next  year, 
on  his  return  to  America,  he  was  welcomed  with  enthusiasm  because  of  what 
he  had  accomplished  by  imagination,  enthusiasm,  and  business  ability.  The 
University  recognized  his  public  services  by  giving  him,  in  1840,  the  Doctor 
of  Laws  degree.  A  manuscript  poem  in  the  Library,  written  by  a  classmate, 
and  entitled  "The  Yaliad,"  has  this  to  say  about  Smith : 

What  young  hero's  that,  who  looks  so  sage 
And  carries  dignity  beyond  his  age? 
'Tis  Smith,  the  Adjutant,  than  whom  no  man. 
E'er  show'd  more  brav'ry,  since  the  world  began; 
Magnanimous  exploits,  and  prowest  deeds, 
Are  sure  to  be  atchiev'd  when  Junius  leads. ^ 

The  letter  is  an  interesting  one  to  his  parents,  written  from  London  in 
1807.  He  was  then  trying  a  case  before  the  British  Admiralty  Court.  He 
writes  about  religious  conditions  in  England,  and  about  Napoleon's  reverses 
in  Poland. 


Alexander  Catlin  Twining  (B.A.  1820),  Born,  1801 ;  Died,  1884. 

Professor  Twining  was  an  inventor  and  engineer,^  who  showed  his  versa- 
tility by  a  dialogue  at  Commencement  on  "Allston's  Theory  of  Taste,"  by 
lecturing  on  Constitutional  Law  in  the  Yale  Law  School,  by  filling  the  professor- 

1  Pearce,  "The  Yaliad,"  p.  7. 

2  Among  other  deceased  Yale  engineers  of  prominence  were  two  West  Point  Professors: 
Jared  Mansfield,  I.L.D.  (B.A.  1777),  Surveyor  General  of  the  United  States,  and  David  Bates 
Douglass,  LL.D.  (B.A,  1813), 

[125] 


MEMORIAI.S  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

ship  of  Mathematics  and  Natural  Philosophy  at  Middlebury  College,  and  by 
being  one  of  the  first  to  establish  the  cosmical  theory  of  meteors.  He  should 
be  specially  remembered  as  the  inventor  of  the  first  practical  method  of 
producing  ice  in  large  quantities,  and  economically,  by  artificial  means.  His 
patents  were  taken  out  in  England  in  1850,  and  in  the  United  States  in  1853. 
Dr.  F.  A.  P.  Barnard  (q.v.)  concludes  a  chapter  on  apparatus  for  the 
manufacture  of  ice,  in  his  Machinery  and  Processes  of  the  Industrial  Arts  and 
Apparatus  of  the  Exact  Sciences  (1869),  with  these  words,  which  refer  to 
Professor  Twining: 

It  cannot  be  too  much  regretted  that  an  invention  of  such  merit  and  importance, 
and  of  which  the  soundness  and  commercial  value  had  been  so  fully  demonstrated 
both  theoretically  and  experimentally,  should,  through  the  apathy  or  timidity  of 
capitalists,  have  been  permitted  to  lie  neglected  in  the  country  in  which  it  originated 
till  foreign  enterprise  had  seized  upon  it  and  developed  it  into  a  great  industry.^ 

His  process  of  evaporating  and  restoring  volatile  liquids  has  been  at  the 
foundation  of  most  ice  machines  since  manufactured.  He  was  in  charge  of 
the  survey  of  the  New  Haven  railroad  from  1835  to  1837,  and  in  this  and 
other  positions  secured  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  ablest  engineers  in 
the  country. 

The  auto^graph  is  a  letter  to  his  young  daughter.  "Now  is  the  happy 
&  the  glorious  time  for  you  to  walk  in  the  ways  of  truth  prayer  &  religion." 


Frederick  Law  Olmsted  (Class  of  1842-1843,  1845-1846), 
Born,  1822;  Died,  1903. 

Olmsted  was  attracted  to  Yale  by  the  reputation  of  Professor  Silliman. 
As  his  brother  (B.A.  1847)  was  a  student  in  the  College,  he  made  warmer 
friendships,  and  saw  more  of  undergraduate  life,  than  would  have  been  expected 
in  the  case  of  a  laboratory  student  in  the  years  just  prior  to  the  formal 
organization  of  the  Scientific  School.  His  studies  at  Yale,  practical  farm 
experience,  and  a  pedestrian  tour  in  Europe  for  the  purpose  of  observing 
agricultural  methods  and  the  art  of  park  and  garden  planning,  gave  him 
the  training  which  made  it  possible  for  him  to  lay  the  foundations  in  America 
for  the  profession  of  landscape  architecture.  In  connection  with  Calvert 
Vaux,  he  planned  Central  Park  in  New  York,  his  first  important  work.  He 
was  mainly  responsible  for  designing  such  public  parks  as  Prospect  and 
Washington  in  Brooklyn,  and  Washington  and  Jackson  in  Chicago,  and  the 

3  Quoted  from  Kingsley,  Yale  College,  Vol.  I,  p.  410. 

[  126  ] 


INVENTORS  AND  ARTISTS— SUPPLEMENTARY  NAMES 

general  park  systems  of  New  York,  Boston,  and  Buffalo.  He  also  did  much 
work  at  the  national  capitol,  and  was  responsible  for  the  grounds  at  the  World's 
Fair  in  Chicago.  He  is  still  recognized  as  having  been  the  foremost  American 
in  his  field. 

A  letter  is  added,  written  in  1857  to  the  editor  of  the  Atlantic  Monthly, 
who  had  asked  him  to  review  Weston's  Progress  of  Slavery.  It  was  not 
unnatural  that  he  should  be  called  upon  to  do  this  work,  as  he  had  just  pub- 
lished two  volumes  of  journeys  in  the  Southern  states,  which  were  later 
reproduced  in  England,  under  the  title  of  The  Cotton  Kingdom,  and  attracted 
much  attention.  The  letter  refers  to  Olmsted's  difficulties  in  carrying  through 
his  work  in  New  York:  "My  time  belongs  to  the  Central  Park  and  bad 
weather  next  week  or  the  inability  to  obtain  funds  to  pay  laborers  may  give 
me  leisure  that  I  can  not  now  calculate  upon." 


Frederic  Remington  (Class  of  1900),  Born,  1861;  Died,  1909. 

Remington  did  not  receive  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Fine  Arts  from  Yale 
until  1900,  but  his  studies  in  the  Art  School  were  carried  on  from  1878  to 
1880.  His  fine  physique  gained  him  membership  in  the  University  football 
team.  After  professional  study  in  New  York,  and  a  brief  experience  in  a 
village  store,  he  went  West,  and  during  his  four  years  as  cowboy,  ranchman, 
and  scout,  gained  that  intimate  familiarity  with  frontier  life  which  he  por- 
trayed so  brilliantly.  He  made  his  reputation  as  an  illustrator,  but  he  also  did 
work  of  merit  in  the  fields  of  painting,  sculpture,  and  literature.  He  presented 
to  the  University  one  of  his  characteristic  Spanish  War  scenes,  which  hangs  in 
the  South  Gallery  of  the  Art  School.  An  authority  on  American  art  thus 
sums  up  his  contribution  : 

....  but  the  authoritative  chronicler  of  the  whole  western  land  from 
Assiniboine  to  Mexico  and  of  all  men  and  beasts  dwelling  therein  is  Frederic 
Remington.  He,  at  least,  cannot  be  said  to  have  sacrificed  truth  to  grace.  The 
raw,  crude  light,  the  burning  sand,  the  pitiless  blue  sky,  surroinid  the  lank,  sun- 
burned men  who  ride  the  rough  horses  and  fight  or  drink  or  herd  cattle  as  the  case 
may  be.    The  record  is  invaluable  and  the  execution  is  direct  and  sure.* 

There  have  been  more  representative  painters^  than  Remington  graduated 
from  Yale,  but  no  artist  whose  work  has  been  more  distinctive  or  characteristic 
of  the  life  he  depicted. 

4  Isham,  The  History  of  /imcrican  Painting,  p.  501. 

5  Among  recent  graduates  of  tlie  Art  Scliool  are  Hela  Pratt  (B.F.A.  1899),  in  .sculi>ture, 
Samuel  Isham  (also  B.A.  1875),  and  William  Anderson  Coffin  (also  B.A.  1874),  in  painting. 
Pratt  is  specially  known  to  Yale  men  for  his  design  of  the  Bicentennial  medal,  and  for  his 

[127] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

The  autograph  is  an  illustrated  letter,  written  in  April,  1896,  in  a 
humorous  strain,  to  Julian  Ralph,  in  London.  "With  police  assistance  I 
have  at  last  gotten  an  address  said  to  be  yours.  All  I  want  is  to  inquire  after 
you  and  how  you  like  London  &c.     I  am  plugging  away  at  my  game — nothing 

is   happening — we   rather   hope    for    a   war   with    Spain I   have   just 

written  my  first  story  for  Harpers  Magazine. —  ....  Give  my  Kaind  regards 
to  the  Prince  &  believe  me  Yours  Frederic  R." 

Hale  statue.  The  engraver,  William  James  Linton  (Hon.  M.A.  1891),  although  an  Englishman 
by  birth,  was  intimately  identified  with  New  Haven,  as  were  also  Amos  Doolittle,  whose  early 
historical  engravings  often  bring  fabulous  sums  at  auction  sales,  and  Hezekiah  Augur  (Hon. 
M.A.  1833),  the  sculptor,  and  inventor  of  machinery  for  carving.  Daniel  Huntington  was  a 
member  of  the  Class  of  1836,  but  left  at  the  close  of  Freshman  year,  and  graduated  at 
Hamilton  College. 


[128] 


CHAPTER  VII 

STATESMEN 

I.     THE  UNIVERSITY'S  CONTRIBUTION  TO  STATESMANSHIP 

Yale  has  been  true  to  the  function  specified  in  her  charter,  to  fit 
"Youth  ....  thorough  the  blessing  of  Almighty  God  ....  for 
Publick  emplojmient  ....  in  ...  .  Civil  State."  Her  graduates 
have  always  been  influential  in  the  public  life  of  the  colonies  and  of 
the  nation.  For  over  a  century  (since  1792)  the  Governor  and 
Lieutenant  Governor  of  Connecticut  have  been  members  of  the  Yale 
Corporation,  representatives  there  of  the  body  politic,  and  since  the 
substitution  in  1871  of  Alumni  Fellows  in  place  of  the  six  senior  state 
senators,  many  prominent  statesmen  have  been  elected  to  this  highest 
governing  body  of  the  University.  In  these  and  other  ways,  Yale's 
close  connection  with  public  life  has  been  maintained.  iVs  evidence 
of  this  it  may  be  stated  that  the  Quinquennial  Catalogue  of  1910  shows 
sixty-two  United  States  Senators,  twenty  members  of  the  Cabinet, 
twenty-eight  foreign  Ambassadors  and  Ministers,  and  forty-seven 
Governors  of  states.^  It  would  be  possible  to  make  up  an  almost 
complete  federal  government  from  Yale  men  who,  at  different  times, 
have  held  the  most  important  positions.  It  is  perhaps  worth  while  to 
show  what  the  result  would  be : 

President:  William  Howard  Taft  (B.A.  1878)  Ohio 

Vice-President:  John  Caldwell  Calhoun  (B.A.  1804)  South  Carolina 

Secretary  of  State:  John  Middleton  Clayton  (B.A.  1815)  Delaware 

William  Maxwell  Evarts   (B.A.  1837)  New  York2 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury:  Oliver  Wolcott  (B.A.  1778)  Connecticut 

Franklin  MacVeagh  (B.A.  1862)  Illinois 

1  Cf.  the  figures  for  1860  given  in  the  address  of  Dr.  William  B.  Sprague  (B.A.  1815)  on 
the  "Influence  of  Yale  College  on  American  Civilization,"  reproduced  in  the  American  Journal 
of  Education,  Vol.  10,  p.  681:  Senators,  41;  Cabinet,  10;  Ministers,  9;  Governors,  27. 

2  Also  Vice-President  Calhoun.  Ashbel  Smith  (B.A.  1824)  was  Secretary  of  the  Republic 
of  Texas  and  its  Minister  to  England  and  France. 

[129] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 


Secretary  of  War: 


Secretary  of  the  Interior: 
Secretary  of  the  Navy: 


Postmaster  General: 


Attorney  General: 

Secretary  of  Commerce  and  Labor: 
Supreme  Court: 

Speaker   of    the    House    of    Repre- 
sentatives : 
Chairman     of     the     Committee     on 

Ways  and  Means: 
United    States    Ambassadors     and 
Ministers  to  Europe: 
England: 
France: 


Peter  Buell  Porter  (B.A.  1791)  New  Yorks 

Alphonso  Taft  (B.A.  1833)  Ohio 

Henry  Lewis  Stimson  (B.A.  1888)  New  York* 

John  Willock  Noble  (B.A.  1851)  Missouri 

George  Edmund  Badger  (B.A.  1813)  North  Carolina 

William  Henry  Hunt  (Class  of  1843)  Louisiana 

William  Collins  Whitney  (B.A.  1863)  New  York 

Truman  Handy  Newberry  (Ph.B.  1885)  Michigans 


1785) 


Return  Jonathan  Meigs  (B.A. 
Gideon  Granger  (B.A.  1787) 
Francis  Granger  (B.A.  1811) 
Samuel  Dickinson  Hubbard  (B.A.  1819) 
Wilson  Shannon  Bissell  (B.A.  1869) 
Edwards  Plerrepont  (B.A.  1837) 
Wayne  MacVeagh   (B.A.  1853) 
Victor  Howard  Metcalf  (LL.B.  1876) 
A  full  bench,  see  footnote  4  in  Intro- 
duction to  Chapter  VIII 

Theodore  Sedgwick  (B.A.  1765) 

Ezekiel  Bacon  (B.A.  1794) 


Ohio 

New  York 
New  York 
Connecticut 
New  York 
New  York 
Pennsylvania^ 
California 


Massachusetts 


Massachusetts 


Edwards  Plerrepont  (B.A.  1837)  New  York 

Silas  Deane  (B.A.  1758)  Connecticut 

Joel  Barlow  (B.A.  1778)  Connecticut 

Germany:  Theodore  Runyon  (B.A.  1842)  New  Jersey 

William  Walter  Phelps  (B.A.  1860)  New  Jersey 

Andrew  Dickson  White  (B.A.  1853)  New  York 

Russia:  Ralph  Isaacs  Ingersoll  (B.A.  1808)  Connecticut 

Cassius  Marcellus  Clay  (B.A.  1832)  Kentucky 

Alphonso  Taft  (B.A.  1833)  Ohio 

Andrew  Dickson  White  (B.A.  1853)  New  York 

Austria:  Alphonso  Taft  (B.A.  1833)  Ohio 

Henry  Rootes  Jackson  (B.A.  1839)  Georgia 

William  Walter  Phelps   (B.A.  1860)  New  Jersey 

Wayne  MacVeagh  (B.A.  1853)  Pennsylvania 
Stewart  Lyndon  Woodford  (B.A.  1854)   New  York 

Wayne  MacVeagh  (B.A.  1853)  Pennsylvania 

John  Walker  Fearn  (B.A.  1851)  Illinois 

Eugene  Schuyler  (B.A.  1859)  New  York 

Eben  Alexander  (B.A.  1873)  North  Carolina 

David   Humphreys    (B.A.   1771)  Connecticut 

James  Osborne  Putnam  (B.A.  1839)  New  York 

Stanford  Newel  (B.A.  1861)  Minnesota 
A  complete  list  would  also  include  ministers  to  many  non-European  countries,  among  them 
such   representative  men   as   Peter   Parker    (B.A.   1831)    of   Massachusetts,   Commissioner   to 
China,  and  James  Gadsden  (B.A.  1806)  of  South  Carolina,  Minister  to  Mexico. 

■J  Roger  Griswold  (B.A.  1780)  declined  this  portfolio  in  1801. 

4  Also  President  Taft  and  Vice-President  Calhoun. 

5  Also  Secretary  of  Commerce  Metcalf. 

0  Also  Secretary  of  War  Alphonso  Taft  and  Secretary  of  State  Evarts. 


Italy: 

Spain: 

Turkey : 

Roumania,  Servia,  and  Greece: 


Portugal: 
Belgium: 
Netherlands: 


[130] 


THE  UNIVERSITY'S  CONTRIBUTION  TO  STATESMANSHIP 

These  names  will  give  some  idea  of  the  prominence  of  our 
graduates  in  the  public  life  of  the  nation.  To  summarize:  it  may  be 
said  that  if  Yale  men  who  have  held  important  offices  at  different 
periods  were  brought  together,  they  would  give  a  President,  Vice- 
President,  complete  Cabinet,  except  for  the  recently  established 
Department  of  Agriculture,  Ambassadors  and  INIinisters  to  all  the 
great  European  powers,  a  full  Supreme  Bench,  a  clear  majority  of 
the  Senate,  and  nearly  a  working  majority  in  the  House,  in  addition 
to  enough  Governors  for  every  state  in  the  Union. 

When  we  come  to  consider  the  greatest  single  contribution  which 
the  University  has  made  to  American  statesmanship,  the  answer  is  not 
uncertain.  It  was  in  connection  with  the  formation  of  our  govern- 
ment. Then  Yale  played  a  conspicuous  part  in  determining  the  form 
of  public  measures  and  the  character  of  political  life.  The  Revolu- 
tionary chapter  is  in  many  respects  the  most  inspiring  one  in  the 
University's  history.  In  addition  to  a  patriotic  Faculty  led  by 
President  Stiles,  and  a  stead}^  stream  of  youth  going  out  into  the 
military  field,  there  was  also  a  notable  group  of  statesmen.  The  list 
is  headed  by  twenty-four  members  of  the  Continental  Congress,  four 
of  whom  became  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence — Philip 
Livingston  (B.A.  1737),  New  York;  Lewis  Morris  (B.A.  1746), 
New  York;  Oliver  Wolcott  (B.A.  1747),  Connecticut;  and  Lyman 
Hall  (B.A.  1747),  Georgia.  Then  comes  the  important  service  of 
Pelatiah  Webster  (B.A.  1746)  as  a  publicist,  and  that  of  the  four 
Yale  men  in  the  Convention  which  framed  the  United  States 
Constitution:  William  Livingston  (B.A.  1741),  New  Jersey;  William 
Samuel  Johnson  (B.A.  1744),  Connecticut;  Jared  Ingersoll  (B.A. 
1766),  Pennsylvania;  and  Abraham  Baldwin  (B.A.  1772),  Georgia. 
The  work  of  Johnson  and  Baldwin  in  the  Convention  was  of  large 
significance,  and  will  be  discussed  in  their  biographies,  while  Living- 
ston, as  war  Governor  of  the  central  state  of  New  Jersey,  rendered 
Washington  invaluable  help. 

Of  the  three  hundred  and  forty-nine  members  of  the  Continental 

[131] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Congress  (1774  to  1788),  twenty-nine  were  graduates  of  Princeton, 
twenty-four  of  Yale,  twenty-three  of  Harvard,  twelve  of  William 
and  Mary,  eight  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  four  of  Columbia, 
and  one  each  of  Brown  and  Rutgers.  Princeton  was  represented  in 
ten  states,  Yale  in  six,  Harvard  in  five,  Pennsylvania  in  three,  William 
and  Mary  in  two,  and  the  others  in  one  each.  These  statistics,  taken 
from  a  carefully  annotated  edition  of  Lanman's  Dictionary  of  the 
United  States  Congress,  in  the  author's  possession,  and  duly  verified 
in  so  far  as  Yale  is  concerned,  would  seem  to  indicate  that  in  the 
Revolutionary  period,  Princeton  was  the  most  broadly  influential  of 
American  colleges  politically,  with  Yale  and  Harvard  close  behind. 
The  same  compilation  shows  that  of  all  members  of  Congress  up  to 
1858,  Yale  leads  with  one  hundred  and  twenty  members,  followed 
by  Princeton  with  one  hundred  and  thirteen,  and  Harvard  with  one 
hundred  and  one. 

It  is  noticeable  that  the  graduates  of  Yale  were  more  conspicuous 
in  statesmanship  at  the  time  of  national  construction  than  they  were 
in  that  of  reconstruction.  The  causes  for  this  condition,  noticeable 
at  so  many  colleges,  are  difficult  to  explain  fully,  especially  as  the 
University  showed  its  patriotism  by  sending  hundreds  of  men  to 
preserve  the  Union,  and  by  furnishing  leaders  of  public  opinion  in 
press  and  on  platform,  who  fought  vigorously  against  slavery.^  The 
main  reason  seems  to  be  that  the  old-time  aristocratic  leadership 
in  the  political  life  of  New  England  had  declined,  while  that  of  the 
South,  with  its  marked  talent  for  public  affairs,  was  not  in  a  position 
to  render  adequate  service,  owing  to  the  impoverishment  of  war. 
The  democratic  leadership  of  prominent  Eastern  university  men,  like 
Roosevelt,  Taft,  Hughes,  and  Wilson,  had  not  yet  come  to  the  front. 
New  Englanders  and  Southerners  of  good  position,  and  of  inherited 

7  Among  these  were  William  Jay  (B.A.  1807),  Joshua  I>eavitt  (B.A.  1814),  Cassius  M, 
Clav  (B.A.  1832),  Leonard  Bacon  (B.A.  1820),  Horace  Bushnell  (B.A.  1827),  Charles  T. 
Torrey  (B.A.  1833),  and  Charles  J.  Stilld  (B.A.  1839).  Samuel  Hopkins  (B.A.  1741)  was 
one  of  the  earliest  anti-slavery  leaders  in  America.  Abraham  Uncoln  delivered  a  powerful 
s])eech  on  the  slaverj^  question  in  New  Haven,  March  6,  1860.  See  Nicolay  and  Hay,  Complete 
Works  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  Vol.  V,  pp.  339-371. 

[132] 


THE  UNIVERSITY'S  CONTRIBUTION  TO  STATESMANSHIP 

taste  for  statesmanship,  were  now — with  the  Western  development 
of  the  country,  and  the  necessar}^  drawing  of  an  increasingly  large 
number  of  highly  educated  youth  into  commerce  and  engineering — 
yielding  to  a  vigorous  new  type  of  political  leadership,  which  owed 
less  to  culture  and  to  university  training.  The  college  man  as  a 
political  force  in  America  was  relatively  unimportant  in  the  middle 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  We  had  outgrown  the  aristocratic  condi- 
tions of  an  earlier  generation  with  its  idea  of  noblesse  oblige,  and  had 
not  fully  reached  the  modern  conception  of  democracy.  There  is  a 
special  reason  for  this  decline  of  the  influence  of  university  men  in 
this  country  in  the  decades  after  the  Civil  War,  which  coincided 
with  a  decline  in  American  statesmanship  itself.  It  is  a  reason  to 
which  too  little  attention  has  been  given  by  historians,  namely,  the 
effect  of  the  ravages  of  war  in  cutting  down  so  much  of  the  flower 
of  the  nation's  idealism.  Young  men  from  our  colleges,  representing 
families  where  culture  and  capacity  for  public  affairs  were  inherited, 
entered  the  Union  Army,  and  perhaps  even  proportionately  more 
the  Southern  Army,  by  the  thousand.  Their  spirit  was  dauntless. 
They  were  killed,  like  Winthrop,  leading  their  troops,  and  as  a  result 
the  halls  of  statesmanship  were  deprived  for  a  generation  of  many  a 
man  who  had  large  ability  for  public  life.  It  is  not  that  Yale  men 
have  shown  less  talent  for  forming  political  opinion  in  modern  times, 
or  that  fewer  of  our  graduates  of  the  nineteenth  century  have  entered 
the  arena  of  politics,  but  rather  that  there  have  been,  in  proportion  to 
their  numbers,  fewer  conspicuous  statesmen  among  them  than  among 
their  predecessors,  at  least  in  the  legislative  branch  of  the  government. 
Unfortunately  Yale's  greatest  single  name  in  public  life — Calhoini — 
was  on  the  side  of  the  past  rather  than  of  the  future.  He  and  Lee 
were  the  noblest  representatives  of  the  "Lost  Cause,"  and  his  masterly 
presentation  of  his  honest  convictions  did  much  to  bring  the  "irre- 
pressible conflict"  to  a  clear  and  final  issue.  Unfortunately  also  the 
most  statesmanlike  man  whom  Yale  helped  to  train  for  reconstruction, 
Governor  Tilden,  just  failed  of  attaining  the  presidency,  and  was  thus 

[133] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

prevented  from  rendering  that  national  service  for  which  he  was  so 
well  fitted. 

The  later  period  of  American  history  is  identified  largely  with 
the  careers  of  men  still  living,  so  it  does  not  come  within  the  scope  of 
these  volumes.  It  is  not  improper,  however,  to  recall  the  fact  that 
during  this  period  Yale  supplied  the  nation  with  a  President  (Taft), 
a  Chief  Justice  (Waite),  and  occupants  of  most  Cabinet  portfolios, 
including  a  Secretary  of  State  (Evarts). 

The  decline  of  interest  in  debating  at  the  University  during  the 
last  half  century,  and  the  transfer,  in  some  measure,  of  the  center  of 
serious  undergraduate  discussion  of  public  measures  from  the  East 
to  the  West,  should  give  food  for  thought  at  Yale  and  other  Eastern 
universities.  Intramural  and  intercollegiate  debating  are,  generally 
speaking,  more  potent  educational  factors  in  the  JSIississippi  Valley 
today  than  they  are  in  New  England.  Fortunately  there  are  some 
encouraging  signs  of  a  return  to  earlier  and  better  conditions  in  this 
respect.  It  is  hoped  that  there  will  sometime  be  a  Union  at  Yale, 
built  like  that  at  Oxford  around  debating  as  a  center,  and  that  with 
this  the  old  keenness  for  discussing  the  problems  of  statesmanship, 
which  Linonia  and  Brothers  did  so  much  to  create  in  an  earlier 
generation,  may  be  revived ;  for  public  debate  is  one  of  the  best  schools 
for  political  life,  as  the  history  of  Yale  has  proven. 


[134] 


II.     REPRESENTATIVE  BIOGRAPHIES,  WITH  LETTERS 

William  Livingston 
Class  of  1741 

Born,  November  30,  1723;  Died,  July  25,  1790 
First  Governor  of  New  Jersey 

Few  men  in  America  holding  civil  positions  rendered  the  country 
such  eminent  service  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution  as  William 
Livingston.  He  was  the  son  of  Philip  Livingston,  the  second  Lord 
of  the  Manor,  and  was  born  in  Albany,  New  York.  He  followed 
the  tradition  established  by  his  older  brothers  by  preparing  for  Yale 
College,  where  he  proved  himself  a  high  scholar,  graduating  at  the 
head  of  his  class.^  He  also  stood  at  the  top  of  the  printed  class  list, 
owing  to  the  social  prominence  of  his  family.^  His  principal  instructor 
was  Tutor  Whittelsey,  an  excellent  scholar,  who  "For  literature"  "was 
in  his  day  oracular  in  college,"  to  quote  the  words  of  President  Stiles' 
funeral  sermon.  The  good  tutor's  learning  and  powers  of  teaching 
did  not  prevent  David  Brainerd  (q.v.)  from  casting  unjust  reflections 
on  his  piety,  which  resulted  in  the  future  missionary's  dismissal  from 
college.  Conditions  when  Livingston  was  a  Freshman  seem  to  have 
been  rather  lax.  Here  is  a  letter  written  by  a  member  of  the 
Sophomore  class: 

Last  night  some  of  the  freshmen  got  six  quarts  of  Rhum  and  about  two  payls 
fool  of  Sydar  and  about  eight  pounds  suger  and  mad  it  in  to  Samson,  and  evited 
ever  Scholer  in  Colege  in  to  Churtis  is  Room,  and  we  made  such  prodigius  Rought 
that  we  Raised  the  tutor,  and  he  ordred  us  all  to  our  one  rooms  and  some  went  and 
some  taried  and  they  geathered  a  gain  and  went  up  to  old  father  Monsher  (?)  dore 
and  drumed  against  the  dore  and  yeled  and  screamed  so  that  a  bodey  would  have 

1  Sedgwick,  Memoir  of  the  Life  of  William  Livingston,  p.  47.     Cf.  Stiles,  Diary,  Vol.  II, 
p.  515. 

2  See  Vol.  I,  pp.  218,  219. 

[135] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

thought  that  they  were  killing  dodgs  there,  and  all  this  day  they  have  bien  a  eounsling 
to  geather,  and  they  sent  for  Woodward  and  Dyar  and  Worthenton,  Briant  and 
Styles.^ 

But  in  spite  of  their  fondness  for  "Samson"  and  their  capacity  for 

*'Rought,"  a  word  which  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to  the  modern 

imdergradiiate  "rough-house,"  two-thirds  of  Livingston's  classmates 

entered  the   Christian  ministry,   a  record  unequaled  by  any  other 

class  of  its  size — twenty  members/    This  remarkable  proportion  was 

doubtless  due  largely  to  the  work  of  the  English  evangelist,  George 

Whitefield,  who  was  in  New  Haven  for  several  days  in  the  fall  of 

their  Senior  year,  and  records  in  his  journal  that  he  "spoke  very 

closely  to  the  students."     His  visit  was  followed  in  the  spring  by  a 

marked  religious  awakening  when  Rev.   Gilbert  Tennent,   another 

well-known  preacher,  conducted  special  services,  with  the  result  that, 

according  to  Professor  Goodrich,  "Every  one  in  the  college  appeared 

to  be  under  a  degree  of  awakening  and  conviction."^     This  was  all 

part  of  "the  Great  Awakening  of  1740,"  which  started  under  the 

preaching  of  Jonathan  Edwards    (q.v.)    at  Northampton.     Of  the 

direct  influence  of  this  movement  on  Livingston,  we  have  no  positive 

evidence,  but  that  he  sympathized  with  it  is  evident  from  the  part  he 

played  in  founding  Princeton,^  and  we  know  that  he  was  always  a 

steadfast  Christian.     As  President  Dwight  put  it  after  his  death: 

"To  his  other  excellencies.  Governor  Livingston  added  that  of  piety."^ 

When  Livingston  went  up  for  his  Master's  degree  he  upheld  the 

negative  of  the  question.  An  Ens  rationis  eocpers  regiminis  moroLis  sit 

capax?     Of  his  devotion  to  Yale  we  have  several  evidences.     Near 

the  close  of  his  life,  he  wrote  to  a  classmate:     "Alas,  Alas!  there  is 

I  suppose  no  probability,  considering  my  time  of  life,  of  my  ever 

having  it  in  my  power  to  revisit  that  darling  spot  of  mine  in  which  I 

3  Quoted  from  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  I,  p.  598.    The  letter  was  written  early  in  1738 
to  a  classmate,  by  Ezra  Clap. 

4  All  of  the  members  of  1702,  '03,  '06,  '10,  '13,  '15,  '16,  and  '17  were  clergymen,  but  they 
aggregated  only  21  in  number.    Six  out  of  nine  members  of  1714  entered  the  ministry. 

5  Quoted  by  Wright,  Two  Centuries  of  Christian  Activity  at  Yale,  p.  20 — an  interesting 
account.    See  Tyerman,  Life  of  Whitefield,  Vol.  I,  p.  477. 

0  See  under  Brainerd. 

7  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  I,  p.  684. 

[136] 


STATESMEN— WILLIAM  LIVINGSTON 

received  the  first  rudiments  of  my  education,  and  for  which  I  still 
retain  the  tenderest  affection,  New  Haven."^  His  sense  of  pride  in 
being  a  Yale  man  was  great.  When  he  began  work  in  New  York 
City  there  were,  in  the  entire  province,  only  six  college  graduates 
outside  of  the  clerical  profession  and  in  addition  to  Livingston  and 
his  brothers.  His  degree  was  a  mark  of  distinction,  so  it  was  not 
unnatural  that  when  he  published  his  Philosophic  Solitude:  or  the 
choice  of  a  Rural  Life,  he  stated  on  the  title  page  that  the  author 
was  "a  Gentleman  educated  at  Yale  College."  The  work  is  introduced 
by  some  laudatory  verses  by  a  classmate  ending  with  this  couplet: 

Yalensis  smiles  the  finished  piece  to  view. 
And  fondly  glories  in  a  son  like  YOU.^ 

The  poem,  the  first  contribution  to  belles  lettres  by  any  regular 
graduate  of  the  College,^"  is  valuable  as  showing  Livingston's  literary 
interests,  and  doubtless  reflects  largelj^  his  undergraduate  study  and 
reading.  His  country  home  was  to  be  marked  by  plain  living  and 
high  thinking.  "No  costly  furniture  should  grace  my  hall,"  but  books 
were  to  be  there  in  large  numbers : 

Virgil,  as  prince,  should  wear  the  laurel'd  crown, 
And  other  bards  pay  homage  to  his  throne. 

#  *  *  *  #  *  * 

The  far-fam'd  bards  that  grac'd  Britannia's  isle, 
Should  next  compose  the  venerable  pile. 
Great  Milton  first,  far  tow'ring  though  renown'd. 
Parent  of  song,  and  fam'd  the  world  around ! 

Then  come  "tuneful  Pope,"  "great  Drj^den's  lofty  muse,"  and  "the 
gentle  Watts": 

These  for  delight.     For  profit  I  would  read 
The  labour'd  volumes  of  the  learned  dead. 
Sagacious  Locke,  by  Providence  design'd 
To  exalt,  instruct,  and  rectify  the  mind.^^ 

8  Sedgwick,  Memoir  of  the  Life  of  William  Livingston,  p.  47, 

9  Philosophic  Solitude,  Boston  Edition  of  1762,  p.  viii. 

10  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  II,  p.  103.     John  Hubbard   (Hon.  M.A.  1730)   published 
The  Benefactors  of  Yale  College  in  1733. 

11  Long  extracts  from  the  poem  are  given  in  Duyckinck,  Cyclopcedia  of  American  Litera- 
ture, Vol.  I,  pp.  153-155. 

[137] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Cato,  Longinus,  Livy,  Thiicydides,  Quintilian,  Plato,  Demosthenes, 
TuUy,  Seneca,  Socrates,  Raleigh,  Derham,  and  Newton,  are  the  other 
names  which  would  be  represented  in  his  library.  The  list  is  noticeable 
both  for  its  inclusions  and  omissions.  There  is  no  direct  reference  to 
Shakespeare,  but  perhaps  there  is  a  concealed  thrust  at  him  in  the 
lines  on  Watts  "Who  scorns  th'  applause  of  the  licentious  stage."  Of 
course,  INIilton  and  Watts  appealed  to  the  Puritan  mind  in  a  way  that 
Shakespeare  could  not. 

Another  indirect  evidence  of  William  Livingston's  interest  in 
Yale  is  that,  shortly  after  he  received  his  degree,  his  father  gave 
President  Clap  twenty-eight  pounds  and  ten  shillings,  "to  be  put  out 
to  Interest,  and  the  Interest  to  be  appropriated  for  the  support  of  a 
Professor  of  Divinity,  or  to  any  other  Use  the  President  and  Fellows 
should  think  to  be  most  for  the  Advantage  of  the  College."^'  This 
gift  is  important  from  the  University's  standpoint  as  it  was  the  first 
attempt  to  endow  a  professorship  at  Yale.  Its  personal  interest  is 
derived  from  the  fact  that  the  donation  was  made  "as  a  small  acknowl- 
edgement of  the  sence  I  have  for  the  favour  and  Education  my  sons 
have  had  there.'"^  These  were  four  in  number.  "The  Livingstons, 
fair  Freedom's  generous  band,"  to  quote  the  words  of  Barlow,^^  were 
all  distinguished:  Peter  Van  Brugh  Livingston  (B.A.  1731), 
President  of  the  first  Provincial  Congress  of  New  York,  and  one  of 
the  original  Trustees  of  Princeton  College;  John  Livingston  (B.A. 
1733),  a  New  York  merchant,  "distinguished  by  his  philanthropy, 
probit}^  and  many  other  virtues";  Philip  Livingston  (B.A.  1737, 
q.v.),  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence;  and  William,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch. 

On  leaving  college  he  took  up  the  studj^  of  law  in  New  York 
City,  making  his  final  preparation  in  the  office  of  William  Smith 
(q.v.),  a  most  eminent  and  eloquent  lawyer.  Livingston  was 
associated  with  his  son,  William  Smith,  Jr.  (q.v.),  afterwards  Chief 

12  Clap,  Annals,  p.  54. 

13  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  II,  p.  71. 

14  Barlow,  Vision  of  Columbus,  Book  V,  p.  164. 

[138] 


STATESMEN— WILLIAM  LIVINGSTON 

Justice  of  Canada,  in  publishing  in  two  volumes  the  first  digest  of 
the  laws  of  the  province.  This  brought  him  to  public  attention,  as 
did  also  his  active  membership  in  the  provincial  assembly.  He  was 
considered  at  this  time  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Bar. 

It  was  his  services  as  a  pamphleteer,  and  as  an  efficient  and 
honorable  statesman  in  high  political  office,  that  gave  him  his  main 
title  to  the  gratitude  of  his  countrymen.  The  former  activity  began 
with  The  I^idependent  Reflector,  which  was  true  to  its  title  as  far  as 
the  political  and  moral  issues  of  the  day  were  concerned.  It  was  a 
strenuous  opponent  of  every  kind  of  abuse  and  corruption.  Here  is 
the  editor's  own  vigorous  assertion  of  his  principles : 

The  Reflector  is  determined  to  proceed  unawed  and  alike  fearless  of  the  humble 
scoundrel  and  the  eminent  villain.  The  cause  he  is  engaged  in  is  a  glorious  cause. 
'Tis  the  cause  of  truth  and  liberty :  what  he  intends  to  oppose  is  superstition,  bigotry, 
priestcraft,  tyranny,  servitude,  public  mismanagement,  and  dishonesty  in  office.  The 
things  he  proposes  to  teach,  are  the  nature  and  excellence  of  our  constitution,  the 
inestimable  value  of  liberty,  the  disastrous  effects  of  bigotry,  the  shame  and  horror 
of  bondage,  the  importance  of  religion  unpolluted  and  unadulterate  with  superstitious 
additions  and  inventions  of  priests.  He  should  also  rejoice  to  be  instrumental  in  the 
improvement  of  commerce  and  husbandry.  In  short,  any  thing  that  may  be  of 
advantage  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  province,  in  particular,  and  mankind  in  general, 
may  freely  demand  a  place  in  his  paper. ^^ 

The  Reflector  was  followed  by  a  series  of  anonymous  articles 
with  such  designations  as  "The  Watchtower,"  "The  Sentinel,"  and 
"Hortensius,"  which  appeared  in  various  papers  and  magazines,  and 
rendered  conspicuous  service  to  the  colonial  cause  in  New  York 
and  New  Jersey — a  service  to  be  compared  with  that  of  Samuel 
Adams  in  Massachusetts,  in  creating  a  public  opinion  determined  upon 

15  Sedgwick,  Life  of  William  Livingston,  p.  75.  The  editorship  of  this  sheet  places  Living- 
ston near  the  top  of  the  long  line  of  Yale  ni^n  prominent  in  journalism.  The  list  includes 
such  well-known  names  as  Jedidiah  Morse  (B.A.  1783)  and  Joseph  V.  Thompson  (B.A.  1838) 
in  the  religious  field;  Elihu  Hubbard  Smith  (B.A.  178(5),  the  founder  of  American  inedical 
journalism;  Joshua  Leavitt  (B.A.  1814)  and  Cassius  M.  Clay  (B.A.  183:2)  in  the  strenuous 
arena  of  political  reform;  Nathaniel  Parker  Willis  (B.A.  18x37)  on  tlie  literary  side;  William 
C.  Woodbridge  (B.A.  1811)  and  Henry  Barnard  (B.A.  1830)  as  editors  of  educational  reviews; 
and  George  W.  Smalley  (B.A.  1853)  and  many  others  among  conteni))orary  American  jour- 
nalists. A  little  remembered  name  that  deserves  a  place  in  this  list  is  that  of  Rnos  Bronson 
(B.A.  1798),  who  founded  and  edited  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  the  influential  federal 
newspaper,  The  Gazette  of  the  United  States. 

[139] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

American  independence/*'  Livingston  was  a  fighter  for  every  kind 
of  freedom.  His  speech  before  the  legislature  of  New  Jersey,  in 
1776,  was  declared  by  John  Adams  to  be  the  most  elegant  and 
masterly  ever  made  in  America/^ 

The  character  of  his  many-sided  activity  is  well  brought  out  in 
Professor  Tyler's  summary : 

A  positive,  aggressive,  rugged  man,  with  Scottish  fire  and  Scottish  tenacity,  a 
good  lover,  a  good  hater,  the  robustness  of  his  temper  streaked  with  veins  of  humor, 
imagination,  and  tenderness,  a  considerable  student  of  books,  a  poet,  an  orator,  an 
essayist,  a  satirist,  he  was  noted  throughout  the  last  seven  years  of  the  Revolutionary 
period  for  the  gusty  vigor  with  which  he  governed  his  little  commonwealth,  organized, 
sustained,  and  spurred  on  her  soldiers,  and  to  the  military  warfare  against  the 
enemy  added  a  most  vivacious  literary  warfare — bombarding  them  through  the 
newspapers  with  intermittent  showers  of  shot  and  shell  in  the  form  of  arguments, 
anathemas,  jokes  and  jeers.  To  have  a  rough  and  ready  part  in  that  species  of 
warfare,  was  indeed  an  old  habit  and  passion  of  his  life;  and  after  many  a  noisy 
and  smoky  word-battle  with  his  antagonists  in  the  later  colonial  days,  it  was  quite 
impossible  for  him  to  refrain  from  entering,  in  a  similar  manner,  into  the  more  deadly 
disputes  of  the  Revolution.^* 

Livingston's  pet  aversion,  next  to  English  tyranny,  was  the 
Episcopal  Church.  He  was  a  prominent  Presbyterian,  and  shared 
the  opinion  of  many  of  his  contemporaries  that  bishops  would  be 
dangerous  in  a  democracy.  He  even  opposed  the  charter  of  Columbia 
College  because  the  institution  was  to  have  some  affiliations  with  the 
American  ecclesiastical  body  that  represented  Anglicanism. 

His  career  as  a  statesman  was  even  more  conspicuous  than  as  a 
pamphleteer.  He  served  in  the  first  three  sessions  of  the  Continental 
Congress.  The  only  reason  that  his  name  is  not  subscribed  to  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  is  that  on  June  5, 1776,  he  left  Congress 
for  Elizabethtown,  to  take  command  of  the  New  Jersey  militia.  That 
summer  he  became  the  first  chief  executive  of  the  state,  a  position 

16  Cf.  Chapter  XXIV  in  Tyler,  Literary  History  of  the  American  Revolution.  It  is 
entitled  "Samuel  Adams  and  William  Livingston  and  Their  Literary  Services  to  the 
Revolution." 

17  Letters  of  John  Adams,  Addressed  to  his  Wife,  Vol.  I,  p.  168.  Quoted  by  Tyler, 
Literary  History,  Vol.  II,  p.  17. 

18  Tyler,  Literary  History,  Vol.  II,  pp.  17,  18. 

[  140  ] 


STATESMEN— WILLIAM  LIVINGSTON 

which  he  held  with  eminent  usefulness  until  his  death,  fourteen  years 
later.  He  was  a  great  war  Governor,  like  Clinton  in  New  York  and 
Trumbull  in  Connecticut.  Washington  found  him  of  inestimable 
service  during  the  years  when  New  Jersey  was  a  center  of 
military  operations.  After  the  Revolution  Livingston  declined  the 
appointment  to  supervise  the  erection  of  the  Federal  buildings  in 
Washington,  and  the  position  of  Minister  to  Holland.  He  continued 
as  Governor,  serving  also  as  one  of  New  Jersey's  delegates  to  the 
Federal  Convention  of  1787,  which  framed  the  present  United  States 
Constitution.  It  was  appropriate,  in  view  of  these  distinguished  and 
disinterested  public  services,  that  he  should  receive  Yale's  highest 
degree — the  Doctorate  of  Laws.  This  was  conferred,  in  1788,  by 
the  President  and  Fellows  "as  a  testimony,"  so  runs  the  letter  of 
Dr.  Stiles,  "of  their  high  respect  for  your  literary  and  political  merit, 
and  the  distinguished  honour  to  which  your  great  abilities  and  fervent 
patriotism  have  elevated  you,  both  in  the  republic  of  letters  and  in 
political  life."^^ 

Governor  Livingston  was  a  man  of  large  ability,  unimpeachable 
character,  and  genuine  patriotism.  He  was  a  true  friend  of  political 
freedom,  and  a  man  whose  name  deserves  to  be  always  remembered 
as  that  of  one  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Republic.  It  was  characteristic 
of  him  that  he  called  his  delightful  home  in  New  Jersey — one  of  the 
most  hospitable  of  colonial  mansions,  where  the  British  repeatedly 
tried  to  capture  him — Liberty  Hall,""  and  it  was  consistent  with  this 
same  idea  that  he  secured,  in  1786,  an  act  of  the  legislature  forbidding 
the  importation  of  slaves,  liberating  at  the  same  time  those  in  his  own 
possession.  One  of  the  most  famous  and  characteristic  of  his  writings 
was  A  New  Sermon  to  an  Old  Text:  Touch  not  mine  anointed,  in 
which  he  tried  to  prove  that  the  people,  and  not  the  monarch,  were 
the  "anointed" — a  radical  position  to  take  in  1765!"^ 

19  Sedgwick,  Life  of  William  Livingston,  p.  431. 

20  Liberty   Hall   was    famous    for   its   society.     One   of   Livingston's   beautiful   daughters 
married  John  Jay. 

21  See  Duyckinck,  Cyclopcedia  of  American  Literature,  Vol.  I,  p.  152. 

[141] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

This  sketch  may  be  fittingly  closed  with  the  quaint  words  of 
President  Stiles,  written  to  Livingston  in  1782:  "While  the  present 
Revolution  has  made  shipwreck  of  many  characters  which  set  out  well 
in  life,  it  gives  us  pleasure  to  rejoice  in  the  firmness  of  your  Excel- 
lency's character,  and  the  singular  glory  with  which  it  will  transmit 
itself  to  all  American  ages."" 

His  life,  with  important  correspondence,  was  published  by 
Theodore  Sedgwick,  Jr.  It  is  entitled  A  Memoir  of  the  Life  of 
William  Livingston. 


Trenton  26  April  1782 
Sir 

I  find  myself  honoured  with  your  Excellency's  Letter  of  the  23^  instant, 
containing  a  request  to  me  from  the  Council  of  your  State  "to  order"  Capt 
Robert  White  lately  captured  by  Capt  Hyler,  &  who  has  been  an  atrocious 
offender  in  your  State,  to  be  transmitted  thither  &  delivered  to  the  Sherif  of 
the  City  &  County  of  Philadelphia. 

Your  Excellency  &  the  Council  will  be  pleased  to  be  assured  that  no 
exertions  of  mine  shall  ever  be  wanting  to  aid  another  State  in  securing  persons 
who  have  committed  crimes  within  their  jurisdiction,  &  are  afterwards  found 
within  ours ;  and  I  should  think  myself  particularly  happy  in  this  opportunity 
of  giving  the  clearest  demonstration  of  that  disposition  by  directing  the  appre- 
hension of  White :  But  as  the  laws  are  fully  competent  to  the  present  exigency, 
there  is  no  necessity  for,  (and  indeed  there  may  be  public  offence  given  by)  the 
interference  of  the  Executive  of  this  State  in  the  matter.  All  that  is  requisite 
is,  for  3'our  Chief  Justice  to  issue  his  warrant  for  apprehending  White,  &  on 
your  Sherif's  calling  on  our  Chief  Justice  with  such  warrant,  &  the  latter  will 
indorse  it;  in  virtue  of  which  your  Sherif  may  apprehend  him  in  any  part  of 
this  State. 

I  did,  however,  immediately  on  tlie  receipt  of  your  Excellency's  Letter 
dispatch  an  Express  to  Capt  Hyler  to  Brunswick,  where  I  am  informed  he  is, 
directing  him  not  to  send  White  to  the  Commissary  of  Prisoners,  (as  our 
Privateers  by  their  instructions  are  directed  to  do)  but  to  secure  him  in  the 
best  manner  possible ;  &  if  he  should  have  been  sent  before  my  letter  reaches 

22  Sedgwick,  Life  of  WilHam  Livingston,  p.  370. 

[142] 


STATESMEN— WILLIAM  LIVINGSTON 

him,  to  send  for  him  back  again  &  keep  him  in  the  securest  manner  he  can  till 
farther  orders — With  the  greatest  Esteem  I  have  the  honour  to  be 

your  Excellency's 

most  obedient  and 
very  humble  servant 

Wil:  Livingston 
His  Excellency  William  Moore  Esq^. 
President  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council 
of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania — 

This  letter  gives  valuable  information  regarding  the  form  of 
procedure  in  cases  of  extradition  under  the  "Confederation."  The 
action  authorized  b}^  Governor  Livingston  is  in  accordance  with  a 
section  of  Article  IV  of  the  "Articles  of  Confederation  and  Perpetual 
Union  between  the  States,"  as  signed  in  Philadelphia  in  1778: 

If  any  Person  guilty  of,  or  charged  with  treason,  felony,  or  other  high 
misdemeanor  in  any  state,  shall  flee  from  Justice,  and  be  found  in  any  of  the  united 
states,  he  shall  upon  demand  of  the  Governor  or  executive  power,  of  the  state  from 
which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up  and  removed  to  the  state  having  jurisdiction  of  his 
offence. ^^ 

23  Mosher,  Executive  Register  of  the  United  States,  p.  296. 


[143] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

William  Samuel  Johnson 
Class  of  1744 

Born,  October  7, 1727;  Died,  November  14,  1819 

One  of  the  Framers  of  the  United  States  Constitution,  and 
President  of  Cokimbia  College 

Few  graduates  of  Yale  University  have  combined  a  distinguished 
public  career  with  nobility  of  character  and  the  highest  culture  more 
truly  than  William  Samuel  Johnson.  He  is  best  known  as  chairman 
of  the  committee  which  gave  final  form  to  our  Federal  Constitution, 
but  this  was  only  one  of  several  services  of  almost  equal  importance 
which  he  rendered. 

He  was  the  son  of  Rev.  Samuel  Johnson  (q.v.),  one  of  the  most 
eminent  of  early  New  England  divines,  and  inherited  from  him  a 
strong  attachment  to  the  Church  of  England.  The  rectorj?^  in 
Stratford,  Connecticut,  from  which  town  many  of  the  family  papers 
were  transferred,  in  1911,  to  the  custod}^  of  the  Yale  Library,  was 
his  birthplace.  Of  his  college  life  few  facts  are  preserved.  He  was 
an  excellent  classical  student,  gaining  on  this  account  a  Berkeley 
Scholarship.  This  gave  him  the  opportunity  of  a  year's  postgraduate 
study,  and  it  is  good  to  know  that  he  always  retained  his  early  love  for 
the  classics  in  spite  of  his  busy  life.  Owing  to  the  strong  Episcopalian 
tendencies  of  the  family,  he  was  granted  the  privilege,  rare  in  those 
days,  of  going  "home  to  church,  once  in  three  weeks,"^  or  at  least  once 
a  month  for  communion,  as  there  was  neither  rector  nor  regular 
Church  of  England  services  in  New  Haven  until  a  decade  later,  and 
even  then  President  Clap  refused  permission  to  an  undergraduate 
to  act  as  a  lay  reader."  These  difficulties  experienced  by  the  relatively 
few  Episcopal  students  at  the  College  in  the  early  days  are  amusing 
from  the  standpoint  of  a  century  and  a  half  later  when  they  at  least 
equal  in  number  their  Congregational  brethren. 

1  Beardsley,  Life  and  Times  of  William  Samuel  Johnson,  p.  4. 

2  Dexter,  Tale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  II,  p.  566. 

[  144  ] 


STATESMEN— WILLIAM  SAMUEL  JOHNSON 

An  interesting  letter  written  to  "Sammy"  while  a  Sophomore, 
and  containing  good  parental  advice,  will  be  found  in  the  sketch  of 
his  father.  The  son  was  at  that  time  boarding  in  Commons  and 
lodging  with  Mrs.  Caner,  probably  the  widow  of  Henry  Caner,  the 
builder,  who  was  brought  to  New  Haven  in  1717,  to  erect  the  first  of 
the  college  buildings.  The  Caners  were  Episcopalians  and  old  friends 
of  the  Johnsons. 

William  Samuel  was  only  seventeen  when  he  delivered  the  Latin 
"Cliosophic"  Oration  at  graduation.  This  was  then  one  of  the  highest 
Commencement  honors.  It  is  also  worth  recording  that  in  the  list 
of  Qucestiones  pro  Modulo  IHscutiendce  for  1747,  Johnson,  who  then 
took  his  Master's  degree,  is  down  to  speak  on  the  negative  of  the 
subject,  A7i  Hominum  Vitia  privata  publico  Emolumento  sint?  After 
continuing  his  studies  for  a  year  at  the  College,  he  returned  home, 
serving  for  a  time  as  a  catechist  and  lay  reader,  but  never  taking 
orders. 

He  fitted  himself  for  the  law,  and  soon  became  a  prominent 
figure  at  the  Bar,  serving  in  the  Connecticut  General  Assembly,  in 
the  Governor's  Council,  and  for  a  short  time  later  on  the  Superior 
Court.  He  was  also  a  delegate  to  the  Stamp  Act  Congress  of  1765, 
and  was  mainly  responsible  for  preparing  its  address  to  the  King. 
He  represented  Connecticut  in  England  from  1767  to  1771,  as  the 
Colony's  special  agent  in  the  adjustment  of  claims  to  the  territory 
occupied  by  the  Mohegan  Indians — an  experience  which  brought  him 
into  contact  with  many  representative  men,  including  Dr.  Samuel 
Johnson,  who  became  his  frequent  correspondent.  He  tried,  at  the 
Corporation's  request,  to  solicit  funds  for  his  Alma  INIater  in  the 
mother  country,  but  in  this  he  was  not  successful.  On  his  return  to 
America  he  declined  a  nomination  to  the  Congress  of  1774,  and 
during  the  Revolution  refused  to  take  part  in  political  life,  living  in 
retirement  at  Stratford,  as  he  could  not  conscientiously  join  in  using 
force  against  England.  As  soon  as  peace  was  declared  he  entered 
heartily  into  the  constructive  work  of  forming  a  new  and  independent 

[  145] 


*         MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

nation.  He  was  in  the  Continental  Congress  from  1784  to  1787,  and 
in  the  latter  year  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  delegation  sent  from 
his  state  to  the  Federal  Constitutional  Convention,  where  he  found 
good  Yale  company  in  the  persons  of  William  Livingston  (B.A. 
1841 ) ,  of  New  Jersey,  Jared  Ingersoll  (B.A.  1766) ,  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  Abraham  Baldwin  (B.A.  1772),  of  Georgia,  whose  biographies 
are  given  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  His  Connecticut  associates  were 
Oliver  Ellsworth,  for  three  years  a  member  of  the  Class  of  1766, 
but  a  graduate  of  Princeton,  and  Roger  Sherman,  a  man  without 
academic  training,  who  became  the  Treasurer  of  Yale  College.  These 
were  the  strongest  men  in  the  state,  and  the  part  they  played  in 
determining  the  form  of  our  government  was  of  large  importance. 

Johnson's  biographer  claims  that  in  the  Convention  "he  first 
proposed  the  organization  of  the  Senate  as  a  distinct  body,  in  which 
the  state  sovereignties  should  be  equally  represented  and  guarded."^ 
This  was  a  feature  of  government  well  known  in  Connecticut  through 
the  representation  of  her  towns  in  the  Colonial  Assembly,  and  the 
advocacj^  of  equal  representation  of  the  states  in  the  Senate,  without 
interfering  with  a  population  basis  in  the  lower  house,  was  largely 
brought  about  through  the  influence  of  Johnson  and  his  associates. 
As  one  competent  student  of  political  history  has  said:  "Her 
[Connecticut's]  combination  of  commonwealth  and  town  rights'  had 
worked  so  simply  and  naturally  that  her  delegates  were  quite  prepared 
to  suggest  a  similar  combination  of  national  and  state  rights  as  the 
foundation  of  the  new  government."* 

It  was  in  the  debate  on  the  "Virginia  Plan"  in  the  Convention 
that  Johnson's  influence  was  most  felt.  This  provided  for  repre- 
sentation in  both  houses  of  Congress  in  accordance  with  population 
or  wealth,  and  was  naturally  opposed  by  the  smaller  states.  It  was 
then   that   he    rose   to    advocate   the    plan   of   compromise,    which 

3  Beardsley,  Life  of  Johnson,  p.  127. 

4  Professor    Alexander    Johnston,    History    of    Connecticut     (American    Commonwealth 
Series),  p.  320. 

[  146  ] 


STATESMEN— WILLIAM  SAMUEL  JOHNSON 

Connecticut's  constitution,  going  back  to  the  time  of  Hooker,  had 
made  familiar  to  her  citizens.    Here  are  the  words  he  used : 

As  the  debates  have  hitherto  been  managed,  they  may  be  spun  out  to  an  endless 
length;  and  as  gentlemen  argue  on  different  grounds,  they  are  equally  conclusive 
on  the  points  they  advance,  but  afford  no  demonstration  either  way.  States  are 
political  societies.  For  whom  are  we  to  form  a  government?  for  the  people  of 
America,  or  for  those  societies .''  Undoubtedly  for  the  latter.  They  must,  therefore, 
have  a  voice  in  the  second  branch  of  the  general  government,  if  you  mean  to  preserve 
their  existence.  The  people  already  compose  the  iirst  branch.  The  mixture  is 
proper  and  necessary.  For  we  cannot  form  a  general  government  on  any  other 
ground.^ 

The  Convention's  estimate  of  Johnson's  abihty  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  he  was  the  first  member  elected  by  ballot  on  the  important 
committee  "to  revise  the  stjde  of,  and  arrange  the  articles  agreed 
to  by  the  House."  His  colleagues  were  Alexander  Hamilton, 
Gouverneur  Morris,  James  Madison,  and  Rufus  King.  An  original 
copy  of  the  constitution  in  the  State  Department  contains  marginal 
corrections  and  interlineations  in  Johnson's  hand,  which  became  part 
of  the  Federal  Constitution  as  finally  ratified.^  The  historian  of  the 
Convention  states  that  "he  spoke  seldom  but  very  much  to  the  point 
and  was  therefore  accorded  a  respectful  hearing "' 

His  important  work  as  a  lawmaker  did  not  stop  with  giving 
assistance  in  forming  the  basis  of  an  organic  union  of  the  states.  In 
1787  he  was  elected  the  first  United  States  Senator  from  Connecticut. 
He  held  the  position  only  two  years,  but  was  able  to  render  service  in 
several  ways,  especially  in  drawing  up  the  bill  for  the  Federal 
Judiciary.  He  resigned  when  Congress  moved  from  New  York  to 
Philadelphia. 

Dr.  Johnson's  career  as  a  statesman  was  followed  by  important 
educational  work.  He  was  the  first  President  of  Columbia  College, 
as  his  father  had  been  first  President  of  King's  College,  from  which 
it  developed.    King's  had  suffered  severely  in  the  Revolution,  so  much 

5  Beardsley,  Life  of  Johnson,  pp.  127,  128. 

6  Ibid.,  p.  'l28. 

7  Farrand,  Framing  of  the  Constitution,  p.  106. 

[  147  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

so  that  there  were  no  graduates  for  almost  a  decade  following  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  Dr.  Johnson  remained  President  from 
1787  to  1800,  when  he  retired  to  his  old  home  at  Stratford.  The 
college,  which  was  recreated  under  a  Board  of  Regents,  in  1784,  was 
very  prosperous  during  his  administration.  It  developed  a  body  of 
strong  teachers,  including  a  Faculty  of  Arts,  composed  of  the 
President  and  seven  professors,  and  a  Faculty  of  "Physic,"  with  a 
Dean  and  seven  other  professors.  The  President  gave  instruction 
in  rhetoric  and  belles  lettres,  with  special  reference  to  the  English 
language,  which  he  spoke  with  exceptional  purity.® 

It  is  remarkable  that  a  man  of  his  literary  tastes  and  learning 
should  have  published  nothing.  He  is  one  of  the  very  few  graduates 
whose  lives  are  recorded  in  this  volume  who  have  no  bibliography. 
A  copy  of  Stuart's  fine  portrait  of  Dr.  Johnson  hangs  in  the 
University  Dining  Hall.  The  original,  painted  in  the  scarlet  robes 
of  his  Oxford  Doctor  of  Laws  degree,  is  the  best  commentary  on  his 
character.  Refinement,  intelligence,  ability,  and  integrity,  are 
inseparable  from  his  face.  There  is  no  portrait  belonging  to  the 
University  whose  subject  breathes  more  truly  an  air  of  high  distinc- 
tion. He  looks  every  inch  the  statesman  and  the  Christian  gentleman, 
and  he  was  both,  and  an  orator  besides.  In  public  life  and  in  the 
family  circle  he  was  a  model  of  the  noblest  virtues.  Yale  honored 
itself  by  conferring  upon  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws,  the 
earliest  graduate^  to  receive  this  distinction  from  his  Alma  Mater. 

When  Dr.  Johnson  was  approaching  his  ninetieth  year,  President 
Dwight  paid  this  tribute  to  the  devotion  to  countrj'^  which  animated 
his  career: 

His  is  genuine  patriotism,  not  bounded  by  the  limits  of  any  party  or  sect;  it 
has  survived  every  possible  measure  of  ambition,  and  flourishes  in  his  aged  breast 
like  the  evergreen  amidst  the  snows  of  ninety  winters.  Such  patriotism  may  well 
command  our  respect,  but  it  still  more  deserves  our  imitation. ^° 

^A  History  of  Columbia  University,  1754-1904,  Book  One,  Chapter  VII. 

9  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  I,  p."  764. 

10  Beardsley,  Life  of  Johnson,  p.  167. 

[148] 


STATESMEN— WILLIAM  SAMUEL  JOHNSON 

The  Life  and  Times  of  William  Samuel  Johnson,  LL.D.,  First 
Senator  in  Congress  from  Connecticut,  and  President  of  Columbia 
College,  New  York,  by  Rev.  E.  Edwards  Beardsley,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
is  a  reliable  biography. 


New  York  30th  May  1787. 
My  Dear  Son 

I  have  only  a  Moments  time  to  Acknowledge  the  rec't  of  y''.  favour  of 

the  6th  inst*.  &  to  bless  God  for  y*".  health  &  prosperity.     I  arrived  here  last 

evening  from  Stratford  where  thank  God  I  left  the  Family  all  well,  including 

Betsey  &  her  Son  who  are  there  upon  a  Visit.     I  go  on  tomorrow  morning  to 

Philadelphia  where  Delegates  are  assembling  from  all  the  States  in  the  Union, 

except  Rhode  Island,  in  a  special  Convention  for  the  purpose  of  reforming  & 

strengthening  our  federal  Government.    An  arduous  Work.     Gen^  Washington 

Presides,  &  my  Colleagues  from  Connecticut  are  M''.  Shearman  &  M^.  Elsworth. 

It  is  an  affair  of  high  &  agitated  expectation  throughout  the  continent,  but 

what  will  be  the  Issue  of  it  no  Man  can  yet  foresee.     I  am  so  press'd  in  point 

of  time  that  I  must  leave  everything  else  to  Maj^.  Alden  who  says  he  will  write 

you  particularly,  &  recommending  you  to  the  blessing  &  protection  of  Almighty 

God,  I  remain  with  the  kindest  Love,  &  complim*^  to  all  Freinds 

Y^  most  affectionate 

Father  &  Friend 

[Addressed  on  back  to]  W^.  Sam^.  Johnson 

Samuel  W™.  Johnson  Esq'*. 

Bermuda 

This  letter  is  of  value  as  showing  the  contemporary  opinion 
regarding  the  character  and  importance  of  the  work  to  be  undertaken 
by  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1787.  It  was  written  by  Doctor 
Johnson  May  30  on  his  way  to  Philadelphia  as  one  of  the  three 
delegates  from  Connecticut.  The  Convention  had  been  called  for 
May  14,  but  so  few  delegates  had  arrived  that  it  was  impossible  to 
begin  until  May  25,  when  a  majority  of  the  states  was  for  the  first 
time  represented.  Johnson,  therefore,  did  not  take  his  seat  in 
Independence  Hall  until  the  Convention  had  been  fully  organized 
and  had  begim  to  consider  the  Virginia  Plan.  However,  in  spite  of 
his  tardy  arrival,  he  soon  took  a  position  of  influence  among  the 
delegates  because  of  his  high  character  and  learning. 

[149] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 


Pelatiah  Webster 
Class  of  1746 

Born,  November  24,  1726;  Died,  September  10,  1795 

Publicist 

The  life  and  influence  of  Pelatiah  Webster  represent  a  field  of 
interesting  research  for  the  historical  scholar.  That  he  was  one 
of  the  ablest  economists  and  students  of  government  of  his  time  is 
generally  conceded,  but  the  degree  of  his  actual  influence  is  a  matter 
of  controversy.  It  may  at  least  be  said  with  confidence  that  he 
anticipated  in  an  extraordinary  way  many  of  the  features  of  the  great 
Federal  Constitution  of  1787. 

He  was  born  in  Lebanon,  Connecticut.  That  he  was  a  respect- 
able scholar  as  an  undergraduate  is  shown  by  his  receiving  and 
accepting,  a  few  years  after  graduation,  a  call  to  a  position  to  teach 
English,  and  later  Latin,  in  the  Germantown  Academy.  His  class, 
with  only  twelve  graduates,  numbered  four  men  who  rendered 
service  of  national  importance  in  the  j^ears  beginning  with  1776: 
Webster,  President  Stiles  (q.v.),  Lewis  Morris  (q.v.),  one  of  the 
"Signers,"  and  John  Morin  Scott,  of  the  Continental  Congress.  We 
may  well  believe  that  their  independence  of  thought  and  action  dated 
back  to  the  years  at  Yale.  There  are  several  references  in  Stiles' 
diary  to  visits  from  Webster  in  New  Haven,  while  letters  from 
the  latter  to  the  future  President,  both  during  and  after  college  days, 
give  evidence  of  the  intimate  friendship  which  they  formed  as  under- 
graduates. The  correspondence  is  partly  in  Latin,  and  deals  with  all 
sorts  of  subjects — theology,  astronomy,  law,  and,  at  least  on  Webster's 
part,  love.  At  the  close  of  Sophomore  year  Webster  was  taken  ill. 
The  following  hitherto  unpublished  letter  explains  his  condition,  and 
gives  a  picture  of  several  features  of  the  college  life  of  the  time: 

[150] 


STATESMEN— PELATIAH  WEBSTER 

Lebn  Augst  27th  AD  1744 

My  Classmate 

by  these  I  would  inform  you  yt  I  am  not  at  Present  better,  upon  the  account 
of  my  Sickness,  yt  is  the  cause  is  noway  Revemov^  as  I  Perceive,  but  do  think  it 
probable  yt  I  shall  have  some  Durable  Sickness, — and  I  would  desire  you  to  send 
me  my  Greek  Testament  if  you  can  find  it,  for  (if  you  Remember)  I  could  not  find 
it  when  I  came  away. — Give  my  bottle  yt  had  Rhum  in  it  to  ye  Butler,  for  I 
Borrowed  it  of  him,  Return  an  Tully's  Orations,  w^h  is  in  my  chest  to  Pitkin, — and 
take  Good  Care  of  my  other  things,  as  I  Desir^  before,  &  in  so  doing  you  will  much 
oblige  your  Friend  and  Clasmate, 

Pelatiah  Webster  Jn^ 

Collg"  ya  sis  Heres^ 

The  Stiles  Correspondence  has  several  other  letters  of  Webster. 
Some  of  these  bear  evidence  of  the  latter's  affectionate  interest  in  his 
classmates,  and  of  his  fond  memories  of  undergraduate  days. 
Webster  writes  the  year  after  graduation :  "the  many  Acts  &  Inter- 
courses of  mutual  friendship  Between  us  &  our  three  Brothers,  like 
that  of  Davids  &  Jonathans  seems  never  to  have  been  equall^.  by  the 
nymphs  and  Swains."  He  refers  to  "the  happy  times  and  Golden 
Seasons,  in  w^  our  Friendship  was  in  its  bloom,"  and  concludes  "I  am 
S^  y^  Loving  classmate  Member  of  the  P-C-C  President  of  the  3 
astrolg''^  &  y^.  Devoted  Fri'*^."^ 

We  wish  that  we  might  know  more  about  these  student  clubs 
of  the  time,  but  we  do  not.  The  three  "astrologers"  were  Stiles, 
Webster,  and,  probably.  Rev.  John  McKinstry  (B.A.  1746).  In 
1749  Webster  writes  the  first  named  to  get  him  a  wig  to  appear  in  at 
Commencement,  when  he  comes  up  for  his  Master's  degree,  and  in 
1753,  in  another  letter,  he  says,  "I  long  to  see  you  &  receive  some  help 
from  your  Large  Improvements  at  the  seat  of  ye  Muses  since  I  left  it." 

Near  the  close  of  his  Junior  year,  in  May,  1745,  President  Clap 
secured  the  adoption  by  the  Connecticut  Assembty  of  a  new  charter 
for  "The  President  and  Fellows  of  Yale  College  in  New  Haven," 
confirming  the  act  of  1701  "for  the  founding,  suitably  endowing  & 

1  stiles,  MS.  Letters,  V,  p.  55. 

2  Letter  of  May  14,  1747,  Stiles,  MS.  Letters,  Vol.  V,  pp.  60-66. 

[  151  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

ordering  a  Collegiate  School,"  giving  the  institution  exemption  from 
taxation  within  certain  limits,  increasing  the  prestige  of  the  President, 
and  broadening  the  powers  of  the  Corporation  so  as  to  meet  the  needs 
of  an  institution  which  had  assumed  a  collegiate  standing.  This  was, 
from  the  standpoint  of  Yale  College,  the  most  important  event  during 
Webster's  undergraduate  course.  As  every  student  was  directly- 
affected  by  the  new  laws  which  were  put  into  force  under  this  charter,^ 
and  as  constitutional  questions  interested  Webster  deeply  in  later  life, 
it  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  Clap's  great  achievement  had 
a  special  interest  for  him.  The  new  charter  was  in  keeping  with  his 
own  constitutional  convictions  in  providing  for  a  strong  central 
government. 

Having  duly  received  his  Bachelor  of  Arts  degree,  he  studied 
theolog\%  and  preached  for  a  few  years  in  the  small  parish  of  Green- 
wich, JNIassachusetts.  Then,  because  of  his  private  affairs,  which  made 
it  "more  a  matter  of  necessity  than  inclination,"  he  entered  a  lucrative 
business  in  Philadelphia,  where  for  a  few  years  he  also  did  some 
teaching.  During  the  Revolutionary  War  he  was  an  active  Whig. 
While  taking  a  cargo  to  Boston  on  one  of  his  own  vessels  he  was 
"captivated  with  600  Bl.  of  flour"^  and  iron,  and  put  in  prison  by  the 
British,  who  caused  him  the  loss  of  property  valued  at  two  thousand 
pounds.  Again,  in  1778,  General  Howe,  realizing  his  influence  as 
an  American  patriot,  imprisoned  him  for  four  months  in  the 
Philadelphia  jail. 

Of  his  habits  of  mind  as  a  student  at  Yale  and  during  the  years 
immediately  following,  we  have  this  autobiographic  reference: 

The  first  thirty  years  of  my  life  were  spent  in  the  literary  way,  and  generally 
employed  in  a  course  of  hard  study,  and  close  attention  to  some  subject  or  other; 
after  which,  by  a  turn  in  my  private  affairs,  I  went  into  a  course  of  mercantile 
business,  which  was  indeed  more  a  matter  of  necessity  than  inclination.  My  old 
habits  of  reading  and  thinking  could  not  easily  be  shaken  off,  and  I  was  scarce  ever 
without  either  a  book  or  some  subject  of  discussion  ready  prepared,  to  which  I 
could  resort,  the  moment  I  found  myself  at  leisure  from  other  business. 


3  See  under  Wolcott  (Sr.). 

*  Stiles,  Diary,  Vol.  II,  p.  158. 


[  152  ] 


STATESMEN— PELATIAH  WEBSTER 

My  usual  method  of  discussing  any  subjects  which  I  undertook  to  examine,  was, 
as  far  as  possible,  to  find  out  and  define  the  original,  natural  principles  of  them, 
and  to  suffer  my  mind  to  be  drawn  on  without  bias  or  any  incidental  prejudice,  to 
such  conclusions  as  those  original  principles  would  naturally  lead  to  and  demonstrate, 
i.  e.  I  endeavoured,  as  far  as  I  could,  to  make  myself  my  own  original,  and  draw  all 
my  knowledge  from  the  original  and  natural  sources  or  first  principles  of  it.^ 

Such  were  the  mental  traits  and  habits  which  led  Webster  to  accom- 
plish his  greatest  work,  which  was  done  as  a  pamphleteer  and  essayist, 
in  the  broad  field  of  political  science  as  applied  to  the  problem  of  an 
independent  American  government.  This  began,  in  1776,  with  an 
essay  in  a  Pennsylvania  paper  "on  the  Danger  of  too  much  circulating 
Cash,"  reached  its  climax  in  A  Dissertation  on  the  Political  Union 
and  Constitution  of  the  Thirteen  United  States  ....  (1783),  and 
closed,  in  1791,  with  a  volume  of  important  collected  articles,  entitled 
Political  Essays  on  the  Nature  and  Operation  of  Money,  Public 
Finances  and  Other  Subjects.  All  but  two  of  his  twenty-seven 
separate  publications  originally  appeared  anonymously  over  the 
signature  of  "A  Citizen  of  Philadelphia."  This  fact  accounts,  in  a 
measure,  for  the  relatively  slight  personal  recognition  which  his  work 
received  during  his  life-time,  although  it  is  the  tradition  that  members 
of  Congress  were  in  the  habit  of  consulting  him  freely  about  public 
matters." 

The  strongest  statement  of  Webster's  claim  to  recognition  as 
one  of  the  factors  in  devising  the  present  system  of  American  govern- 
ment, is  given  by  Hon.  Hannis  Tajdor  in  The  Origin  and  Growth 
of  the  English  Constitution.    Here  is  a  quotation: 

In  February,  1783,  Pelatiah  Webster  published  at  Philadelphia  a  tract  entitled 
"A  Dissertation  on  the  Political  Union  and  Constitution  of  the  thirteen  United 
States  of  North  America,"  in  whicli  he  not  only  advocated  permanent  courts  of  law 
and  equity,  and  a  stricter  organization  of  the  executive  power,  but  also  a  national 
assembly  of  two  cliambers  instead  of  one,  with  power  not  only  to  enact  laws,  but 
to  enforce  them  on  individuals  as  well  as  on  states.''     A  year  later  this  tract,  which 

5  From  Author's  Preface  to  Political  Essaifs. 

6  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  II,  p.  102.  Cf.  the  references  to  him  in  1787  in  the  recently 
published  fragments  of  the  journal  of  Noah  Webster  (q.v.).  The  lexicographer  talked 
politics  with  him  and  was  impressed  by  Pelatiah  Webster's  ability,  recording  the  fact  that 
he  had  "a  long  head."    Ford,  ISotes  on  the  Life  of  Noah  Webster,  Vol.  I,  p.  208. 

7  See  Pelatiah  Webster,  Political  Essays,  p.  228. 

[  153  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

had  been  reprinted  at  Hartford,  was  followed  by  another  of  the  same  tenor  by  Noah 
Webster,  of  that  place,  in  which  he  proposed  "a  new  system  of  government  which 
should  act,  not  on  the  states,  but  directly  on  individuals,  and  vest  in  congress  full 
power  to  carry  its  laws  into  effect.^  This  brand-new  idea  which  the  Websters  seem 
to  have  been  the  first  to  express, — the  idea  of  giving  to  the  federal  government  the 
power  to  execute  its  laws  not  on  states  in  their  corporate  capacity,  but  directly  on 
individuals, — embodied  the  most  important  and  far-reaching  political  principle  to 
which  our  career  as  a  nation  has  given  birth. ^ 

Doubtless  the  writings  of  Pelatiah  Webster  had  been  influential 
in  directing  the  public  mind  to  the  weakness  of  the  Confederation, 
and  to  the  need  of  a  stronger  form  of  government,  but  Dr.  Taylor 
here  and  in  other  places,  such  as  where  he  calls  him  "the  original 
designer,  or  architect,  of  the  present  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,"  makes  too  great  claims  for  his  hero  as  a  direct  influence  on 
the  Convention.  The  fact  is  that  similar  constitutional  ideas  were 
coming  to  consciousness  about  the  same  time  in  many  minds,  but  they 
were  expressed  nowhere  more  clearly  or  forcibly,  or  with  a  sounder 
economic  basis,  than  in  the  writings  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  In 
this  connection,  Webster  should  be  specially  remembered  for  his 
proposal,  in  1783,  to  establish  a  "Council  of  State"  to  assist  the 
President.  The  leading  authority  on  the  history  of  the  American 
Cabinet  states  that  he  thus  "hit  upon  the  clearest  prototype  that 
probably  can  be  discovered  for  the  later  Cabinet  Council."^"  His  own 
opinion  of  the  influence  of  his  writings,  and  more  especially  of  his 
Dissertation  on  the  Political  Union  and  Constitution  of  the  Thirteen 
United  States  of  North  America,  is  given  in  a  later  publication: 

At  the  time  when  this  Dissertation  was  written  (Feb.  16,  1783)  the  defects 
and  insufficiency  of  the  Old  Federal  Constitution  were  universally  felt  and  acknowl- 
edged; it  was  manifest,  not  only  that  the  internal  police,  justice,  security,  and  peace 
of  the  States  could  never  be  preserved  under  it,  but  the  finances  and  public  credit 
would  necessarily  become  so  embarrassed,  precarious,  and  void  of  support,  that  no 
public  movement,  which  depended  on  the  revenue,  could  be  managed  with  any 
effectual  certainty:  but  tho'  the  public  mind  was  under  full  conviction  of  all  these 
mischiefs,  and  was  contemplating  a  remedy,  yet  the  public  ideas  were  not  at  all 

8  See  Noah  Webster,  Sketches  of  A  merican  Policy,  pp.  32-38. 

9  Taylor,  Origin  and  Growth  of  the  English  Constitution,  Part  I,  p.  65. 

10  Learned,  The  President's  Cabinet,  pp.  Q'i,  63. 

[154] 


STATESMEN— PELATIAH  WEBSTER 

concentrated,  much  less  arranged  into  any  new  system  or  form  of  government,  which 
would  obviate  these  evils.  Under  these  circumstances  I  offered  this  Dissertation 
to  the  public:  how  far  the  principles  of  it  were  adopted  or  rejected  in  the  New 
Constitution,  which  was  four  years  afterwards  (Sep.  17,  1787)  formed  by  the 
General  Convention,  and  since  ratified  by  all  the  States,  is  obvious  to  every  one.^^ 

Students  of  the  late  Professor  Sumner  will  remember  the  high 
estimate  in  which  he  held  Webster  as  an  economist  and  publicist.  He 
felt  that  he  deserved  special  credit  for  pubhcly  advocating  the  appoint- 
ment, as  early  as  1780,  and  even  before  Alexander  Hamilton,  of  a 
"Financier  General,"^^  who  should  have  charge  of  public  finances,  in 
place  of  the  committee  under  the  Confederation/^ 

Pelatiah  Webster,  the  Congregational  minister  who  became  an 
eminent  publicist,  is  a  most  interesting  figure,  about  whom  we  would 
like  to  know  more.  We  have  no  portrait  of  him,  no  biography. 
President  Stiles,  who  frequently  refers  to  his  interesting  conversations 
with  him,  calls  him  "the  Literarj^  Character  as  well  as  jNIerchant,"^* 
and  was  doubtless  pleased  when  he  sent  to  the  Yale  Libraiy  a  copy 
of  his  Political  Essays,  with  an  autogi'aph  inscription  from  the  author 
giving  a  personal  touch  to  the  volume.  This  and  some  of  his  letters 
to  Ezra  Stiles  are  among  the  few  existing  reminders  of  his  Yale 
connection.  His  grandson,  Pelatiah  Perit  (B.A.  1802),  who  was 
President  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  New  York,  inherited  his 
interest  in  public  questions,  and  left  to  the  Universitj'-  a  bequest, 
commemorated  in  a  professorship  of  Political  and  Social  Science. 


Leb".  May  14,  1747 
Kind  Sir, 

After  my  Great  Respects  to  you,  and  all  my  Friends  at  New  Haven  I 
inform  you  that  I  am  well,  and  have  this  Day  with  the  utmost  Joy  and  Greif, 
Rec^.  your  Letter  Dated  may  6 — for  w^.  and  the  many  other  tokens  of  disin- 
terested Friendship  I  have  Rec^.  from  you,  I  must  for  Ever  ly  under  Infinite 
obligations  to  y°. — I  nmst  confess  a  Seperation  from  my  Friends  of  y'".  worth 

11  Pelatiah  Webster,  Political  Essays,  p.  228,  ftwtnote. 

12  See  develojirnent  of  Webster's  ideas  in  A   Dissertation   on   the  Nature,  Authority,  and 
Office  of  a  Financier  General,  or  Superintendent  of  the  Finances,  1781. 

13  Cf.  Sumner,  The  Financier  and  the  Finances  of  the  American  Revolution,  Vol.  I,  p.  260. 
"Stiles,  Diary,  Vol  III,  p.  46. 

[  155  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

and  Good  nature  is  a  Torment  next  akin  to  having  none  or  Living  an  hermit 
amongst  mankind — the  many  acts  &  Intercourses  of  mutual  friendship  Between 
us  &  our  three  Brothers,  Like  that  of  David,s  &  Jonathan,s  Seems  never  to 
have  been  Equall^^  by  the  nymphs  and  Swains. — 

A  Pleasing  Remembrance  of  the  happy  times  and  Golden  Seasons,  in  w^. 
our  Friendship  was  in  its  bloom,  only  gives  rise  to  an  agreable  tho'  Fruitless 
Imagination  or  Fond  wishes  of  Pleasures  to  come.  Pleasures  I  say  nunq™.  Revoc. 
and  ae^.  indeed,  for  a  Repetition  of  Such  none  but  a  Relative  of  ye  Gods  may 
ever  Expect  to  receive — 

But  the  Remains  of  w'^.  the  long  time  of  our  Seperation  Seems  not  to  have 
putt  out  of  y^.  mind  and  w^.  an  Eternity  will  never  cause  me  to  forget  may 
Indeed  be  nourish^,  by  y^.  agreable  &  pleasing  method,  I  mean  by  kind  Letters, 
but  one  of  w^.  Since  commencement  I  have  Rec'^.  from  y°.  I  never  till  very 
lately  knew  where  to  Subscribe  to  you,  if  I  had  I  w^^  have  writ  to  you,  my 
negligence  in  Enquiry  you  must  pardon — 

— the  last  I  heard  from  our  Dear  Friend  S^.  McKinstry  he  was  keeping 
School  at  Wooster. — I  cannot  be  at  Election  at  Hartford,  for  I  must  attend 
a  Splendid  wedding  on  that  Day  at  colchester. — I  now  live  at  my  Father,s 
attended  with  all  the  Melancholy  y*.  a  mournful  Solitude  or  rather  desolation 
is  incident  unto,  never  cou^^  a  meeting  of  Friends  be  more  agreable  than  a 
visit  from  you  w^.  now  be,  &  I  have  a  thousand  things  to  communicate  to  y°.  but 
time  and  Paper  fails  me,  the  most  important  are  some  new  Discoveries  Dilec- 
tissima  arte  nostra  Astrologiae  Paucas  Quas  nuper  Recepi,  Paucas,  ab  Femina 
peritissima  Quando,  apud  Branford  commoratus  Sum  Autumno  Superiore,  et 
ore,  et  Libris  Suis  Dididici,  Quas  omnes  summa  Industria  memoriae  tradidi 
&  voluntate  Liberrima  tibi  communicarem  Si  ex  ore  potui — at — non  sic  volvere 
parcae — Oh  mihi  Preterites  Referat  si  Jupf.  annos  Oh  unam  preteritam, 
Referat  Si  Jupf.  horam  at — Sic  non  volvere  parcae — 

S^.  if  you  can  Get  me  a  Good  School  Down  near  new  Haven  or  Att  new 
haven  if  M"".  Mansfield  leaves  the  School  there  I  w^.  accept  it  very  kindly  of 
you.  pray  write  to  me  the  first  oppurtunity  &  every  oppurtunity.  I  could 
never  be  weary  neither  of  y^.  conversation  or  letters — but  I  must  conclude. 
Give  my  Service  to  S^.  Ailing,  INIills,  Talmage,  &c  and  to  my  Landlord  Cook 
and  all  his  family  &  every  body  else  that  I  Love,  know  w°.  them  be. — I  am 
S^.  y''.  Loving  classmate  member  of  the  P — C — C  President  of  the  3  astrolg^^ 
&  y^  Devoted  Fri**. 


Pelth.  Webster  •^". 


[Addressed  on  back  to] 
M^.  Ezra  Stiles  A.B. 
New  Haven 


[156] 


STATESMEN— PELATIAH  WEBSTER 

This  letter  has  been  loaned  to  the  collection  in  Memorial  Hall 
bj^  the  kindness  of  the  University  Library  Committee.  It  forms  a 
part  of  the  Stiles  Papers  and  has  been  quoted  in  the  biography  above. 
It  was  written  by  Webster  a  year  after  graduation,  from  his  family 
home  in  Lebanon,  where  he  was  studying  theolog}%  presumably  with 
the  local  pastor.  The  introduction  of  Latin  sentences  is  not  unusual, 
as  the  revised  laws  published  only  two  years  before  provided  "That 
Every  Student  of  this  College  Shall  in  his  ordinary  Discourse  Speak 
in  the  Latin  Tongue.  ..."  Webster's  habit  of  placing  the 
apostrophe  at  the  bottom  of  the  line  is  noticeable. 


[  157] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Oliver  Woi.cott 
Class  of  1747 

Born,  November  20,  1726;  Died,  December  1,  1797 
Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence 

Of  the  four  graduates^  of  Yale  who  signed  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  Wolcott  was  the  most  representative.  He  was  not 
a  brilliant  man  or  a  gi-eat  leader,  but  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a 
better  example  of  consistently^  high  and  loyal  citizenship.  It  is  a  sign 
of  the  inherited  family  tradition,  and  a  suggestive  prophecy  of  his 
future  independence,  that  his  father,  who  was  Governor  of  Connecti- 
cut, named  him  after  Oliver  Cromwell.  He  was  born  in  Windsor, 
Connecticut,  the  fourteenth  child  in  a  characteristically  large  New 
England  family,  of  which  two  sons  had  already  graduated  from  the 
University.  His  entrance  examinations,  and  his  course  of  collegiate 
study,  were  thus  formulated  by  President  Clap,  in  1745: 

That  none  may  Expect  to  be  admitted  into  this  College  unless  upon  examination 
of  the  President  and  Tutors,  They  shall  be  found  able  Extempore  to  Read,  Construe 
and  Parce  Tully,  Virgil  and  the  Greek  Testament:  and  to  write  True  Latin  in  Prose 
and  to  understand  the  Rules  of  Prosodia,  and  Common  Arithmetic,  and  shall  bring 
Sufficient  Testamony  of  his  Blameless  and  in  offensive  Life." 

In  the  first  Year  They  Shall  principally  Study  the  Tongues  &  Logic,  and  Shall 
in  Some  measure  pursue  the  Study  of  the  Tongues  the  Two  next  Years.  In  the 
Second  Year  They  Shall  Recite  Rhetoric,  Geometry  and  Geography.  In  the  Third 
Year  Natural  Philosophy,  Astronomy  and  Other  Parts  of  the  Mathematicks.  In 
the  Fourth  Year  Metaphysics  and  Ethics.  In  addition  every  Saturday  Shall 
Especially  be  alloted  to  the  Study  of  Divinity and  on  Friday  Each  Under- 
graduate in  his  Order  about  Six  at  a  Time  Shall  Declaim  in  the  Hall  in  Latin,  Greek, 
or  Hebrew ^ 

The  new  college  laws  were  put  into  force  when  Wolcott  was  a 
Sophomore.     They  are  so  numerous  and  detailed  that  it  is  hard  to 

1  Philip  Livingston  (B.A.  1737),  Lewis  Morris  (B.A.  1746),  and  Lyman  Hall  (B.A.  1747) 
were  the  others.     See  their  biographies  under  Supplementary  Names  at  close  of  this  chapter. 

2  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  II,  p.  2. 

3  Ibid.,  Vol.  II,  p.  5. 

[158] 


STATESMEN— OLIVER  WOLCOTT 

see  how  they  could  all  have  heen  strictly  carried  out,  but  President 
Clap,  during  the  first  part  of  his  administration,  was  an  excellent 
disciplinarian.  The  laws  fill  sixteen  closely  printed  pages  in  Dexter.* 
They  are  full  of  regulations  that  have  a  quaint  sound  to  a  later 
generation.    Here  are  extracts : 

That  Every  Freshman  Shall  be  Obliged  to  Go  any  reasonable  and  proper  and 
reasonable  Errand  when  he  is  Sent  by  any  Student  in  any  Superior  Class 

If  any  Scholar  Shall  make  an  assault  upon  the  Person  of  yC  President  or  either 
of  the  Tutors  or  Shall  wound,  Bruise  or  Strike  any  of  Them,  He  Shall  forthwith  be 
Expelled. 

That  the  Butler  Shall  have  Liberty  to  Sell  Cyder,  Strong-Bear,  Loaf  Sugar, 
Pipes  &  Tobacco  and  Such  Necessaries  for  the  Scholars,  not  Sold  by  the  Steward  at 
the  Kitchen 

If  any  Scholar  shall  be  Guilty  of  Profane  Swearing,  Cursing,  Vowing,  any 
Petty  or  Implicit  Oath,  Profane  or  Irreverent  Use  of  the  Names,  Attributes, 
Ordinances  or  Word  of  God;  Disobedient  or  Contumacious  or  Refractory  Carriage 
towards  his  Superiours,  Fighting,  Striking,  Quarrelling,  Challenging,  Turbulent 
Words  or  Behaviour,  Drunkenness,  Uncleaness,  Lacivious  Words  or  Actions,  wearing 
woman's  Aparrel,  Defrauding,  Injustice,  Idleness,  Lying,  Defamation,  Tale  bareing 
or  any  other  Such  like  Immoralities,  He  Shall  be  punished  by  Fine,  Confession, 
Admonition  or  Expulsion,  as  the  Nature  and  Circumstances  of  the  Case  may  Require. 

This  regidation  is  apparently  an  attempt  to  improve  on  St.  Paul's 
catalogues  of  sins  in  the  first  chapter  of  Romans  and  in  the  fifth  of 
Galatians!  But  the  section  of  the  rules  which  will  be  read  with  the 
greatest  interest  by  graduates  and  students  today  is  that  which  refers 
to  the  still  existing  college  custom  of  the  Seniors  bowing  to  the 
President  in  Chapel.  Here  is  the  law  drawn  up  bj^^  Clap  to  assure 
the  showing  of  proper  respect  to  the  President : 

And  particularly  all  Undergraduates  Shall  be  uncovered  in  the  College  Yard 
when  the  President  or  either  of  the  Fellows  or  Tutors  are  there:  and  when  They 
are  in  their  Sight  and  View  in  any  other  Place:  and  all  the  Bacchelors  of  Arts  Shall 
be  uncovered  in  the  College  Yard  when  the  President  is  there;  and  all  the  Scholars 
shall  bow  when  he  Goes  in  or  out  of  the  College  Hall,  or  into  the  Meeting-House, 
provided  that  the  Public  Worship  is  not  Begun.  And  Scholars  Shall  Shew  due 
Respect  and  Distance  to  those  who  are  in  Senior  and  Superiour  Classes.'^ 


4  Jbid.,  Vol.  II,  pp.  2-18. 

5  Ibid.,  Vol.  II,  pp.  4,  5. 


[159] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  as  far  as  the  Senior  chapel  bowing  is 
concerned,  what  was  originally  enforced  as  a  mark  of  submission  and 
respect,  has  now  become  a  cherished  privilege. 

Of  the  Signer's  personal  career  in  college  few  facts  have  survived, 
but  a  letter  that  he  wrote  forty  years  later  to  one  of  his  sons  who  was 
an  undergraduate,  reflects  his  o^vn  ideals  for  a  Yale  student.  It  would 
be  well  if  fathers  today  would  give  their  sons  equally  good  advice: 

Attend  properly  to  your  Health,  which  I  think  you  may  do,  and  yet  be  the 
best  Scholar  in  your  Class.  This  Character  I  shall  expect  you  will  support,  and 
that  your  literary  Improvement  will  be  of  the  best  kind.  The  great  Obligations 
of  Virtue  and  Religion  you  will  never  forget,  as  an  Observance  of  them  is  necessary 
for  your  present  and  future  Happiness.® 

When  he  took  his  INIaster's  degree,  he  supported  the  affirmative 
of  An  Joab  pro  Trucidatione  Ahsalomi  sit  damnandus. 

On  leaving  college  he  secured  a  commission  as  Captain  from 
Governor  Clinton,  and  marched  to  help  defend  the  Northern  frontier. 
This  was  the  beginning  of  a  long  career  devoted  almost  entirely  to 
public  service.  After  peace  with  the  French  had  been  declared,  in 
1748,  he  occupied  himself  with  medicine  for  a  couple  of  years,  until 
he  was  appointed  the  first  sheriff  of  Litchfield  County.  Then  he 
removed  to  the  countj'^  seat,  which  was  henceforth  his  home.  He  held 
this  position  for  twenty  years,  combining  with  it  membership  in  four 
sessions  of  the  General  Assembly.  Later  he  served  in  the  Governor's 
Council,  and  as  Judge  of  Probate  and  Judge  of  the  County  Court. 
He  was  not  the  man  to  electioneer  for  office,  although  glad  to  serve 
the  public  whenever  a  useful  opportunity  offered. 

It  was  as  a  patriotic  citizen  and  statesman  at  the  time  of  the 
Revolution  that  he  did  work  of  such  importance  as  to  raise  his  citizen- 
ship to  a  level  worthy  of  permanent  commemoration.  During  the 
series  of  events  which  led  up  to  the  final  break  with  England,  he  was 
a  consistent  advocate  of  the  cause  of  the  colonies.  A  good  example 
of  his  spirit  is  the  well-attested  story  of  the  carrying  off  by  night,  to 
his  Connecticut  home,  of  the  equestrian  statue  of  King  George  HI. 

^Memorial  of  Henry  Wolcott,  p.  321. 

[160] 


STATESMEN— OLIVER  WOLCOTT 

This  had  been  erected  on  Bowling  Green  in  New  York  City,  and 
had  been  pulled  down  by  indignant  citizens  in  the  summer  of  1776. 
It  was  made  of  lead  and  gilded.  Safe  in  the  Litchfield  Hills  it  was 
melted  down  by  Woleott's  family  and  friends,  and  was  cast  into 
42,088  cartridges.' 

He  was  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress  from  1775  to 
1783,  except  for  a  two-year  interval  when  he  was  largely  occupied 
with  military  affairs.  Of  his  services  in  Congress  one  of  the  Yale 
poets  of  the  period,  Joel  Barlow  (q.v.),  makes  reference  in  his  Vision 
of  Columbus: 

Bold  Wolcott  urg'd  the  all-important  cause; 

With  steady  hand  the  solemn  scene  he  draws — 

Undaunted  firmness  with  his  wisdom  join'd, 

Nor  Kings  nor  Worlds  could  warp  his  steadfast  mind.^ 

It  was  with  this  spirit  that  he  affixed  his  signature  to  the  Declaration 
of  Independence.  Soon  after  this  event  he  was  appointed  a  Brigadier 
General  of  state  troops,  and  was  in  New  York  at  the  time  of  the 
British  attack.  He  was  also  effective  in  bringing  General  Gates 
much-needed  reinforcements  a  year  later,  at  the  head  of  three  hundred 
mounted  volunteers,  which  arrived  at  the  American  camp  ten  days 
before  Burgoyne's  surrender,  and  in  keeping  a  careful  watch  on  the 
enemy's  attempted  movements  against  Connecticut.  So  his  patriotic 
services  were  rendered  in  the  field  as  well  as  in  the  council  chamber. 
He  was  not  the  kind  to  advocate  fighting  for  freedom  unless  willing 
to  draw  his  own  sword  in  its  behalf.  His  strong,  sincere  character, 
earnest  efforts,  and  complete  confidence  in  the  ultimate  triumph  of 
their  cause  constituted  an  important  asset  for  the  colonies.  Here  is 
a  characteristic  letter  written  to  his  wife  at  a  critical  period  (May  4, 
1776)  : 

In  such  tempestuous  Times  no  one  can  say  what  the  events  of  things  may  be, 
tho'  I  have  no  apprehension  that  Great  Britain  can  subjugate  this  country;  to  give 
us  much  trouble  is  doubtless  in  her  power,  and  a  people  engaged  in  war  must  not 

7  Woodruff,  History  of  the  Town  of  Litchfield,  p.  46. 

8  Barlow,  Vision  of  Columbus,  Book  V,  lines  335-338. 

[  161  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

always  expect  prosperity  in  all  their  undertakings.  God  has  indeed  in  a  wonderful 
manner  hitherto  granted  us  his  protection,  and  I  hope  he  will  still  continue  it. 
Possess  your  own  mind  in  peace.  Fortitude  not  only  enables  us  to  bear  evils,  but 
prevents  oftentimes  those  which  would  otherwise  befal  us.® 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  such  a  sturdy  champion  of  using  force 
against  England  was  in  many  respects  a  great  pacificator.  The 
Continental  Congress  twice  appointed  him  on  commissions  to  negotiate 
what  were  in  reality  treaties  of  peace  with  the  Iroquois  and  the  Six 
Nations,  and  it  was  largely  due  to  his  efforts  that  two  threatening 
internal  disputes  were  settled — that  between  Connecticut  and 
Pennsylvania,  known  as  the  Wyoming  Controversy,  and  that  between 
the  Vermont  settlers  and  New  York  State.'"  At  the  close  of  the  war 
he  was  naturally  called  to  high  civil  posts  in  his  native  state,  finishing 
his  long  public  career  by  ten  j'^ears  as  Lieutenant  Governor,  and  two 
terms  as  Governor.  He  was  the  second  Yale  graduate  to  be 
elected  to  this  position  in  Connecticut,"  but  with  him  began  a  new 
tradition  in  the  office,  twenty-one  out  of  the  forty-two  men  who  have 
since  held  this  position  having  received  their  education  at  the  College.'^ 
President  D wight  said  of  Governor  Wolcott  that  he  "was 
remarkably  distinguished  for  intrepidity,  firmness,  incorruptible 
integrit3%  strong,  bold  conceptions,  and  a  peculiar  decision  of 
character.  At  the  same  time  his  sensibility  was  quick  and  exquisite. 
The  sight,  or  even  the  narration,  of  a  mean,  dishonest,  or  an 
ungenerous  action,  appeared  to  give  him  a  chill,  and  changed  his 
countenance.'"^  He  always  maintained  his  interest  in  the  University, 
and  in  the  ideals  for  which  it  stood.  Throughout  a  busy  life  he  was 
in  the  habit  of  continuing  to  read  the  classics  of  histor}^  literature, 
and  science.  His  services  to  Connecticut  and  to  the  united  colonies, 
his  high  character  and  intellectual  tastes,  all  united  to  make  most 
worthily  bestowed  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws,  which  he  received 

9  Quoted  from  Wolcott  Memorial,  by  Johnston,  Yale  in  the  American  Revolution,  p.  57. 

10  Appleton,  American  Biography,  Vol.  VI,  p.  587. 
"Thomas  Fitch  (B.A.  1721)  was  the  first,  1754-1760. 

12  See  Table  of  Governors  in  Norton,  Governors  of  Connecticut. 

13  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  II,  p.  138. 

[162] 


STATESMEN— OLIVER  WOLCOTT 

from  Yale  a  few  years  prior  to  his  death.  Other  Revolutionary 
leaders  were  more  conspicuous  in  the  public  eye,  but  none  exemplified 
more  truly  than  he  the  consecration  of  ability  and  character  to  the 
cause  of  freedom  and  of  good  citizenship.    Noblesse  Oblige! 


Janry 
1763. 

Thomas  Seymour  Esq 

To  Oliver  Wolcott  D^ 

To  serving  a  Writ  in  favour  of  Jonathan  Butler  of  Hartford 

on  John  McAlpine  of  Goshen 

To  DO.  Asa  Merrills  vs  s'^.  McAlpine  ..... 
To  D''.  Jacob  Brandagee  vs  Jabez  Bacon  of  Woodbury  . 
To  a  Return  of  a  non  est  invent  on  Execution  Sam^  Cole  of 
Farmington  vs  Thomas  Tuttle    .  .  ,  ,  . 

To  D*'.  on  Ex",  in  your  fav^.  vs  John  Barret  of  Woodbury 


£0, 

9, 

10 

0, 

9, 

10 

0, 

12, 

4 

0, 

16, 

0 

0, 

11, 

0 

£2,     19       0 


This  bill,  which  is  entirelj^  in  Wolcott's  handwriting,  and  is  duly 
endorsed  by  him  on  the  back,  is  of  interest  as  showing  the  legal  charges 
and  forms  of  the  period.  It  was  rendered  when  he  was  a  practicing 
lawyer  of  Litchfield,  to  Thomas  Seymour  of  Hartford.  This  was 
probably  the  graduate  of  this  name  (B.A.  1724). 


[163] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Silas  Deane 
Class  of  1758 

Born,  December  24,  1737;  Died,  September  23,  1789 
American  Ambassador  to  France 

The  case  of  Silas  Deane  is  somewhat  complicated.  The  uncer- 
tainty that  has  existed  regarding  his  integrity  and  patriotism  during 
the  last  j^ears  of  his  life,  has,  unfortunately,  tended  to  cloud  the 
services  which  he  rendered  to  the  American  colonies  at  the  time  of 
the  Revolution.    The  latter  were  well-nigh  indispensable  to  its  success. 

He  was  born  in  Groton,  Connecticut,  where  his  father  was  a 
blacksmith.  He  was  the  first  student  whose  biography  is  given  in  this 
work  to  live  in  Connecticut  Hall,  which  was  nearly  finished  when  he 
entered  college  in  the  autumn  of  1754.  The  accommodations,  like 
those  of  every  new  building  at  Yale,  were  at  first  considered  luxurious, 
and  consequently  the  room  rent  determined  upon  by  the  Corporation 
was  fourteen  pence  sterling  per  quarter,  as  contrasted  with  only 
ninepence  in  the  Old  College.^  Every  care  was  taken  to  protect 
this  fine  new  dormitory  from  injury.  The  Faculty — not  the 
Corporation — but  the  President  and  tutors,  who  were  beginning  to 
play  a  large  part  in  the  administration  of  the  College,  passed  the 
following  vote  in  Deane's  Freshman  year: 

Special  Care  shall  be  taken  that  no  Dammage  be  done  to  the  new  College  by 
Cutting  the  Windows,  Doors,  Tables,  or  Carrying  away  the  Tables.  And  that  the 
Scholar  of  the  House  shall  once  in  a  Quarter  View  every  Chamber  and  see  what 
Dammage  is  done,  and  Inform  the  President 

No  locks  shall  be  taken  off  from  any  Door,  but  the  Successors  shall  buy  them, 
and  no  Tables  to  be  carried  out  of  any  Room.- 

1  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  II,  p.  355. 

2  Ibid.,  Vol.  II,  p.  355.  The  reference  to  selling  the  locks  of  doors  in  college  buildings 
gives  unexpected  sanction  to  the  remunerative  business  carried  on  by  members  of  the  Class 
of  1895,  who  first  occupied  Vanderbilt  Hall.  They  sold  to  unsuspecting  underclassmen  the 
andirons  and  window-seats  which  had  been  part  of  the  donor's  original  equipment  of  the 
building ! 

[  164] 


STATESMEN— SILAS  DEANE 

In  Deane's  Sophomore  year  the  same  body  took  under  con- 
sideration the  old  question  of  the  proper  subordination  of  Freshmen — 
the  germ  of  modern  hazing — and  gravely  passed  this  vote : 

It  is  ordered  that  the  Sophimores  in  teaching  the  Freshmen  the  Rules  of  good 
Manners  &  reproving  them  for  any  Misdemeanors  shall  not  speak  so  loud  as  to  be 
plainly  heard  in  any  adjoining  Room,  nor  use  any  harsh  insulting  or  opprobious 
Language,  nor  Stamp  at  them,  nor  speak  more  than  one  at  a  Time,  nor  use  any 
tyrannical  ISIeasures,  but  shall  speak  to  them  with  Decency  &  Gravity,  and 
ordinarily  sitting  down.^ 

That  Deane's  class  needed  instruction  in  "good  Manners" — at  least 
in  the  eyes  of  the  college  authorities — is  shown  by  the  following  vote 
passed  for  its  special  benefit : 

Ordered  that  if  any  Freshman  should  be  any  way  accessary  to  the  fireing  the 
great  Guns  att  the  Commenement  their  Freshmanship  shall  be  continued  one  Quarter 
of  a  Year  longer  and  during  that  Time  they  shall  be  oblidged  to  go  on  Errands  and 
not  have  Liberty  to  send  a  Freshman  on  any  Errands  nor  to  wear  a  Gown,  and  such 
other  Accademical  Punishments  shall  be  inflicted  as  the  Authority  of  College  shall 
find  necessary  for  the  suppressing  of  the  Crime. 

And  whereas  the  firing  of  the  great  Guns  and  Squibs  and  Crackers  and  other 
great  Disorders  have  sometimes  attended  the  Elumination  of  the  College  on  the 
Evening  before  the  Commenement,  it  is  ordered  that  if  any  of  the  aforesaid 
Disorders  shall  continue,  the  Elumination  shall  be  wholly  suppressed  and  that  what 
Charge  shall  be  found  necessary  to  prevent  the  Bells  being  rung  at  any  Time  contrary 
to  Law  shall  be  paid  by  all  the  Undergraduate  Students.* 

Deane  was  one  of  the  participants  in  a  students'  play  acted  on 
several  evenings  in  Januarj^  of  his  Sophomore  year,  at  the  house  of  a 
State  Street  tavern-keeper.  The  Faculty  record  of  this  incident  is 
as  follows : 

Att  a  Meeting  of  the  President  &  Tutors  Jan.  16.  1756  Whereas  it  appears 
that  a  Play  was  acted  att  the  House  of  Wm.  Lion,  the  Evenings  after  the  2,  6,  7 
&  8th.  Days  of  January  instant,  and  that  all  the  students  of  this  College  excepting 
some  Few  were  present  att  One  or  Other  of  those  Times  in  which  the  sd  Play  was 

3  MS.  Judgments  &  Acts  of  the  President  &  Tutors,  June  18,  1756;  No.  1,  p.  53. 

4  MS.  Records  Yale  Corporation,  September  10,  1755.  Compare  with  this  the  following 
from  the  same  records  five  years  later — September  10,  1760:  "Whereas  it  appears  that  most 
of  the  late  Freshmen  Class  on  the  Evening  before  the  Commencement  Day  walked  together 
in  the  College  Yard  with  Clubs  or  Staves,  and  one  of  them  walked  before  and  brandished  a 
naked  Sword,  and  that  they  all  or  most  of  them  made  a  violent  and  scandalous  Noise  by 
jointly  beating  and  striking  on  the  College  Fence.  It  is  ordered  by  this  Board  that  each  of 
the  sd.  Class  who  were  then  present,  shall  be  deprived  of  the  Privilege  of  Sending  Freshmen 
on  any  Errand  for  the  space  of  fourteen  Days  from  their  first  coming  to  College,  after  the 
End  of  the  next  Vacation." 

[  165  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

acted,  and  many  of  them  continued  there,  till  after  nine  of  the  Clock  and  had  a 
large  Quantity  of  Wine,  &  sundry  People  of  the  Town  were  also  present.  And 
whereas  this  Practise  is  of  a  very  pernicious  Nature,  tending  to  corrupt  the  Morals 
of  this  Seminary  of  Religion  &  Learning,  &  of  Mankind  in  general,  &  to  the  Mispense 
of  precious  Time  &  Money. 

It  is  thereupon  consider'd  by  the  President  with  Advice  of  the  Tutors  that 
every  Student  of  this  College  (except  those  who  were  then  out  of  Town  &  those  who 
have  declar'd  or  shall  hereafter  come  to  the  President  or  One  of  the  Tutors,  & 
declare  that  they  were  not  present,)  shall  be  find  Eight  Pence  Lawful  Money. 
And  whereas  it  appears,  that  Stoddard  2d.  Wyllys  EUery  Hopkins  2d  Hubbard  2d 
Olcott  Lyman  2d  &  Dean,  were  the  Actors  of  the  Play,  and  undertook  to  pay  for 
the  Room  &  Wine  aforesd.  'Tis  thereupon  consider'd  that  each  of  them  shall  be 
fined  Three  Shillings  Lawful  Money.^ 

The  graduation  exercises  of  his  class  were  very  quiet.  Owing 
to  "the  present  calamitous  and  distressing  War"  it  was  ordered  by 
the  Corporation  that  the  Commencement  be  private,  and  that 
"whereas  the  Candidates  for  the  first  Degree  have  heretofore  obliged 
every  one  in  the  Class  to  pay  their  proportionable  Part  of  the  Charge 
of  purchasing  a  Pipe  of  Wine  at  the  Commencement,  this  Board  do 
now  prohibit  that  Practice.""  So  runs  the  action  of  the  Yale 
Corporation.  Luxury  and  extravagance  could  not  be  tolerated  at 
such  a  time  of  national  distress. 

His  scholarship  record  as  an  undergraduate  was  excellent,  espe- 
cially in  the  classics.  President  Stiles  preserved  one  of  his  Latin 
compositions,  which  may  still  be  seen  in  the  Library.  He  received 
the  coveted  Berkeley  Scholarship,  which  made  it  possible  for  him 
to  return  for  postgraduate  study.  Owing  to  his  long  residence  in 
Europe,  his  college  associations  in  later  life  were  slight,  but  that  he 
retained  a  friendly  and  grateful  interest  in  his  Alma  Mater  is  shown 
by  his  letter  to  Dr.  Stiles,  congratulating  him  upon  being  called 
to  preside  over  "the  Colleges  in  New  Haven,"  and  offering  his 
cooperation  in  estabhshing  a  French  professorship : 

I  therefore  take  Liberty  to  propose  (should  it  be  agreeable  to  you  and  the 
reverent  Corporation  to  patronize  the  Design)  solliciting  Assistance  from  some  of 
my  very  noble  &  opulent  Friends  in  France,  to  establish  a  Professor  of  the  French 

5  MS.  Judgments  &  Acts  of  the  President  &  Tutors,  No.  1,  p.  69. 

6  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  II,  p.  508. 

[166] 


STATESMEN— SILAS  DEANE 

Language  in  your  Colleges,  &  to  make  a  Collection  of  the  Writings  of  their  most 

celebrated   Authors    for   your   Library I    shall   with   the   greatest   pleasure 

contribute  in  proportion  to  the  little  I  am  possess'd  of  towards  it,  &  I  wish  on  this 
account  in  particular  it  was  more  considerable.^ 

Unfortunately  the  Corporation  did  not  show  the  interest  in  the 
proposal  which  it  deserved,  and  nothing  came  of  it.^  When  he  came 
up  for  his  Master's  degree,  he  took  the  negative  of  the  question,  An 
Deus,  salva  Justitia,  Poenam  Peccati,  omittere  Possit? 

For  the  decade  after  leaving  college,  school  teaching,  law,  getting 
married,  and  business,  succeeded  each  other  as  his  major  occupations. 
Then  he  entered  public  life  through  the  Connecticut  General 
Assembly,  and  began  his  real  career.  He  soon  became  a  member  of 
the  state's  Committee  of  Correspondence,  and  of  the  first  two 
Continental  Congresses.  In  these  positions  he  took  advanced  ground 
as  a  patriot,  and  proved  himself  most  energetic  and  useful,  especially 
in  the  second  session.  He  was  on  important  committees  which  laid 
the  foundations  for  the  American  Army  and  Navy,  and  was  chairman 
of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means.  This  included  such  men  as 
Robert  Morris  and  Samuel  Adams.  In  everything  which  had  to  do 
with  adequate  preparations  for  war,  he  was  a  leader.^  Little  wonder 
that  President  Stiles,  writing  in  1776,  refers  to  him  as  "a  most  useful 
Member  of  Congress."^"  His  legislative  experience  was  interrupted 
by  his  joining  Ethan  Allen  in  the  famous  expedition  against 
Ticonderoga,  when  the  British  commander  was  ordered  to  surrender 
in  the  name  of  "Jehovah  and  the  Continental  Congress."  He  was 
"the  leading  spirit"  in  Connecticut  in  this  first  important  offensive 
movement  after  the  Battle  of  Lexington,  a  piece  of  strategy  which 
accomplished  its  purpose  of  preventing  a  British  invasion  from 
Canada. 

In  the  spring  of  1776  came  the  opportunity  of  his  life.  He  was 
appointed  Commercial  and  Political  Agent  to  France,  being  selected 

7  Stiles,  Diary,  Vol.  II,  p.  297. 

8  Ihid.,  p.  304,  footnote. 

9  See  list  of  committee  appointments,  etc.,  Clark,  Silas  Deane,  Chapter  III. 

10  Stiles,  Diary,  Vol.  I,  p.  654. 

[  167  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

for  this  difficult  and  important  task  by  the  Committee  of  Corre- 
spondence, consisting  of  Franklin,  Harrison,  Dickinson,  Jay,  and 
Robert  Morris.  His  instructions  indicated  the  three  main  purposes 
of  his  mission :^^  to  secure  military  supplies — guns,  ammunition,  etc., 
for  an  armj^  of  tliirty  thousand  men ;  to  procure  articles  for  the  Indians 
of  the  frontier,  that  they  might  be  kept  at  least  neutral  by  a  contin- 
uance of  the  regular  trade ;  and  finally,  to  try  to  negotiate  a  friendly 
treaty  with  France.  It  was  a  large  contract  for  an  unskilled  diplomat 
of  an  unrecognized  nation,  especially  as  it  had  to  be  accomplished 
secretly,  and  as  he  knew  no  French.  But  his  success  was  marked. 
The  Indian  supplies  were  obtained  readily,  the  munitions  of  war  with 
great  difficulty;  but  finally,  through  the  cooperation  of  Beaumarchais 
and  of  the  Comte  de  Vergennes,  the  Foreign  Minister  of  Louis  XVI, 
eight  shipments  were  made,  valued  at  over  a  million  dollars.  A  total 
of  514,000  musket  balls,  about  50,000  stockings,  41,000  cannon  balls, 
and  nearly  161,000  pounds  of  powder,  constituted  characteristic 
portions  of  the  cargo,  which  was  ready  to  be  forwarded  about 
six  months  after  his  arrival  in  France.  Without  these  supplies  the 
American  victory  over  Burgoyne  at  Saratoga  would  not  have  been, 
humanly  speaking,  possible.^^  Even  more  significant  was  the  securing 
of  Lafayette,  Steuben,  DeKalb,  and  other  foreign  officers,  who  did 
so  much  to  make  the  Continental  Army  effective. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  these  things  were  accomplished  by 
Silas  Deane  before  the  arrival  of  Franklin.  It  is  probably  true  that 
he  had  exceeded  the  letter  of  his  instructions,  that  some  of  his  accounts 
were  incomplete,  that  he  had  been  somewhat  extravagant,  and  that 
his  arrangements  with  foreign  officers  were,  in  several  cases,  unwise — 
but  these  things  sink  into  insignificance  in  comparison  with  his 
achievement.  In  December,  1777,  Benjamin  Franklin  and  Arthur 
Lee  joined  him,  and  the  three  together  successfully  negotiated  the 
only  remaining  task  originally  assigned  to  Deane  by  the  Continental 

11  Deane's  official  letter  informing  the  French  King  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  offered  the  author  in  1912,  by  a  Philadelphia  dealer,  for  $750! 

12  Clark,  Silas  Deane,  p.  90. 

[168] 


STATESMEN— SILAS  DEANE 

Congress — the  making  of  a  treaty  of  friendship  and  of  commerce 
between  France  and  America.  The  criticisms  of  Deane  at  home, 
largely  inspired  by  the  now  discredited  testimony  of  Arthur  Lee, 
had  become  so  great  that  he  was  obliged  to  return,  in  1778,  to  explain 
matters.  His  position  was  greatly  strengthened  by  a  letter  from 
Dr.  Franklin  to  the  President  of  Congress,  containing  these  sentences : 

I  have  no  doubt  that  he  will  be  able  clearly  to  justify  himself,  but  having  lived 
intimately  with  him  now  fifteen  months,  the  greatest  part  of  the  time  in  the  same 
house,  and  being  a  constant  witness  of  his  public  conduct,  I  cannot  omit  giving  this 
testimony,  though  unasked,  in  his  behalf,  that  I  esteem  him  a  faithful,  active,  and 
able  Minister,  who,  to  my  knowledge,  has  done,  in  various  ways,  great  and  important 
services  to  his  country,  whose  interests  I  wish  may  always  be,  by  every  one  in  her 
employ,  as  much  and  as  effectually  promoted. ^^ 

When  Deane  appeared  on  the  witness  stand,  it  was  not  only  in  defense 
of  his  reputation,  but  as  a  claimant  for  payment  of  his  services.  He 
was  unable  to  get  any  satisfaction,  so  he  published  An  Address  to 
the  Free  and  Independant  Citizens  of  the  United  States  of  North 
America,  of  which  there  is  an  autograph  copy  in  the  Yale  Library, 
which  also  owns  the  original  of  his  Memorials  to  Congress  in  1779. 
Still  the  government  would  not  give  him  his  due,  although  there  was 
not  the  slightest  evidence  that  there  had  been  any  misappropriation 
of  funds,  and  ample  facts  to  prove  that  he  had  greatly  aided  the  cause 
of  American  liberty.  He  returned  to  France  to  complete  his  accounts, 
deeply  grieved  at  heart  both  at  the  insinuations  made  against  him, 
and  at  the  failure  of  Congress  to  reward  his  services.  Finally  a 
commission  reported  that  the  country  owed  Deane  more  than 
thirty  thousand  dollars,  but  he  never  received  a  cent,  and  the  claims 
of  his  estate  were  not  settled  by  the  United  States  until  1842 — more 
than  half  a  centurj^  after  his  death.  Then  the  government  paid  his 
heirs  thirty-seven  thousand  dollars,  on  the  ground  that  the  former 
audit  was  "ex  parte,  erroneous,  and  a  gross  injustice  to  Silas  Deane." 
He  lived  his  later  years  in  poverty  and  neglect  in  different  places 
in  Europe,  brooding  over  his  ill  treatment.     That  he  had  a  just 

13  Dexter,  Yale  D.  and  A.,  Vol.  II,  p.  523. 

[  169  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

grievance  there  is  not  the  shghtest  doubt.  The  home  government  had 
treated  him  shamefully.  These  years  were  indeed  pathetic  ones.  In 
1781  occurred  the  incident  of  the  "intercepted  letters,"  in  which 
the  former  patriot  advocated  the  giving  up  of  further  resistance  to 
England.  Then  came  the  charge,  never  proven,  that  his  change  of 
heart  was  due  to  a  British  bribe.  Finally  in  his  forlorn  exile,  he 
wished  to  return  to  his  native  land,  but  was  for  a  long  time  dissuaded 
by  friends  who  feared  that  he  would  be  treated  with  disrespect.  It 
was  a  sad  ending  of  a  career  begun  with  distinction  and  patriotism. 
That  Deane  was  even  approached  by  a  bribe  from  the  English  govern- 
ment speaks  badly  for  his  reputation  in  the  last  shattered  years,  but 
there  is  no  evidence  that  it  was  accepted,^*  and  it  is  recognized  today 
that  his  disgraceful  treatment  by  the  American  Congress  went  far 
to  justify  anything  short  of  disloyalty.  The  ingratitude  of  his  country 
had  made  shipwreck  of  a  life  that  did  not  have  enough  nobility  of 
character  to  stand  the  strain.  However,  we  should  not  forget  that 
it  was  the  success  of  his  mission  to  France  that  made  possible  some 
of  Washington's  triumphs  on  the  battlefields  at  home.  So  Deane's 
memory  should  be  cherished  as  that  of  one  of  the  men  who  laid  the 
foundations  for  American  independence. 

The  sketch  may  well  be  closed  by  quotations  from  two  of  the 
most  eminent  patriots  of  the  time.  The  diary  of  John  Adams,  who 
succeeded  Deane  as  Commissioner,  contains  this  reference,  written 
in  1778,  giving  a  good  summary  of  the  latter's  personality  and  work: 
"Mr.  Deane  hved  expensively  and  seems  not  to  have  had  much  order 
in  his  business,  public  or  private;  but  he  was  active,  diligent,  subtle, 
and  successful,  having  accomplished  the  great  object  of  his  mission 
to  advantage."^^  Similarly  John  Jay  wrote  to  him  in  1781:  "You 
merit  the  thanks,  not  the  reproaches,  of  your  country." 

Volumes  of  Deane's  letters  have  been  published  by  the  New 
York  and  Connecticut  Historical  Societies.     Dr.  Francis  Wharton 

14  See  Sketch  of  Deane  in  Dexter,  Tale  B.  and  A.,  pp.  525,  526. 

15  Quoted  in  Clark,  StVoj  Deane,  p.  259. 

[170] 


STATESMEN— SILAS  DEANE 

(q.v.),  the  eminent  authority  on  international  law,  has  published  in 
The  Revolutionary  Diplomatic  Correspondence  of  the  United  States 
a  critical  estimate  of  his  character  and  his  achievement.  Stille's  Silas 
Deane,  Diplomatist  of  the  Revolution,  and  Clark's  Silas  Deane, 
A  Connecticut  Leader  in  the  American  Revolution,  are  both 
interesting  volumes. 


Groton  IT^h  Dec^  1766 
Mr.  Mumford 
Sir 

I  have  an  Ace*,  open  with  Messs :  Saltonstalls  to  whom  there  is  a  BalP. 
of  abt  Ten  or  Twelve  pounds  Due,  which  Sr.  you  will  much  oblige  me  by 
Answering  as  I  am  at  present  out  of  Cash,  and  on  sending  your  Ace*,  to  me 
if  there  is  not  so  much  Due  will  answer  your  Draught  on  sight 

I  am  in  haste  Sr. 

Your  most  Hum.  Servt. 

Silas  Deane 
Mr.  Thos.  Mumford 

P.  S.     Please  to  inform  me  as  soon  as  possible  if  the  above  is  agreeable — 

This  note,  written  from  his  birthplace  and  early  home,  dates  from 
the  brief  period  when  Deane  was  a  merchant  securing  a  business 
training  that  was  to  prove  invaluable  to  him  in  his  commercial  under- 
takings for  the  government.  In  1763,  he  married  the  widow  of  a 
successful  Connecticut  country  merchant,  and  it  was  in  this  way  that 
he  was  drawn  temporarily  into  business  life.  His  statement,  "I  am 
at  present  out  of  Cash,"  seems  like  a  pathetic  prophecy  of  the  later 
years. 


[171  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Manasseh  Cutler 
Class  of  1765 

Born,  May  28,  1742;  Died,  July  28,  1823 
One  of  the  Authors  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  Botanist,  etc. 

It  is  hard  to  know  where  to  class  Manasseh  Cutler.  He  might 
with  almost  equal  appropriateness  be  considered  in  these  volumes 
under  Men  of  Science,  Divines,  Educational  Leaders,  Patriots,  or 
Statesmen.  He  was  a  clerg\^man  by  main  occupation,  a  botanist  and 
astronomer  of  repute  in  his  day,  a  merchant,  doctor,  lawyer,  and 
Western  pioneer.  But  his  most  important  achievement — the  securing 
of  the  passage  by  Congress  of  the  far-sighted  Ordinance  of  1787  for 
the  government  of  the  Northwest  Territories — makes  it  seem  proper 
to  consider  him  in  the  group  of  Yale  Statesmen. 

He  was  the  son  of  a  Connecticut  farmer,  and  was  born  in  what 
is  now  the  village  of  Thompson.  The  Yale  pastor  of  a  neighboring 
church  gave  him  the  necessar}^  academic  preparation,  and  he  entered 
as  a  Freshman  in  the  autumn  of  1761,  finding  an  unusually  large 
number  of  other  men  from  Windham  County  in  the  College.  They 
were  in  the  habit  of  riding  down  together  in  a  cavalcade  at  the 
beginning  of  term,  taking  along  a  boy  to  lead  back  their  horses. 
His  roommate  during  two  years  of  his  course  was  Colonel  Hezekiah 
Wyllys,  for  whom  he  had  "the  firmest  friendship  and  affection." 
"Our  attachment,"  he  said,  "had  been  cemented  by  a  similar  taste  for 
the  same  course  of  studj^  which  we  generalh'  pursued  together,  and 
were  companions  in  our  amusements  and  parties  of  pleasure."^ 

Cutler's  undergraduate  course  was  passed  in  what  was  probably 
the  most  disorderly  period  in  the  histor^^  of  Yale.  Bad  conditions 
occurred  intermittently  throughout  the  latter  part  of  President  Clap's 
administration.  Here  are  some  typical  contemporary  accounts.  The 
first  is  from  a  letter  of  one  of  the  Trustees,  Jared  Eliot  ( q.v. ) ,  and 

1  Life,  Journals  and  Correspondence  of  Rev.  Manasseh  Cutler,  Vol.  I,  pp.  211,  212. 

[172] 


STATESMEN— MANASSEH  CUTLER 

was  written  in  the  spring  of  1761.  It  shows  the  spirit  to  which  Cutler's 
class  fell  heir : 

It  seems  to  be  still  times  with  our  New  Lights,  but  not  at  College,  where  there 
has  been  a  tumult,  the  Desk  pulled  down,  the  Bell-case  broken,  and  the  bell  ringing 
in  the  night,  Mr.  Boardman  the  tutor  beaten  with  clubbs, — not  good  fruits  of 
Reformation.^ 

The  undergraduates  remained  true  to  this  tradition.  In  Cutler's 
Sophomore  year  a  serious  rebellion — to  use  the  old  student  word — 
was  brought  about,  because  the  Seniors  refused  to  comply  with  a 
newly  introduced  law  of  the  Corporation  requiring  attendance  upon 
term  examinations.  A  classmate  of  Cutler,  twenty  years  later,  gave 
Stiles  an  account  of  it,  which  the  President  thus  transcribed  in  his 
diary : 

The  whole  Senior  Class  refused  to  be  examined  by  the  Tutors.  Then  the 
Presidt  ordered  the  Class  into  the  LibrY  &  put  it  to  one  i,  e.  ord.  him  to  turn  to  such 
a  place  and  be  examined,  he  refused;  another — refused;  3  or  4 — refused.  He  then 
dismissed  them,  Judgt  read  off  in  the  Hall  that  these  3  or  4  be  admonished — when 
Phin  Lyman  put  on  his  Hat  &  walked  out  callg  out,  follow  on  my  brave  Boys. 
About  half  the  Scholars  followed  &  went  out,  leavS  the  President  &  Tutors  &  rest 
of  the  Scholars  in  the  Hall.  They  immedy  drew  up  a  Remonstr^  &  signed  in  a  circle 
about  sixty  scholars  &  sent  it  to  the  Presid*.  A  College  court  was  called — College 
in  confusion  some  weeks.  At  length  several  were  sick  of  it  &  offered  to 
confess  publickly — this  broke  the  Combination — the  Ring  leaders  were  detected — 
Rustications,  Fines,  &  Expulsions  settled  all  in  Quietness.^ 

It  seems  that  the  disorders  were  due  partly  to  external  political  causes, 
and  partly  to  the  students'  dislike  of  President  Clap,  which  actually 
culminated  three  years  later  in  their  getting  up  a  petition  to  the 
Corporation  for  his  removal !  And  yet  we  continue  to  hear  of  respect 
for  authority  as  a  marked  characteristic  of  old  New  England  life! 
Perhaps  this  was  true  of  an  earlier  period,  but  it  certainly  was  not 
marked  in  the  New  Haven  of  most  of  the  last  third  of  the  eighteenth 
centur\^  The  following  action  of  the  Corporation,  taken  in  the 
summer  preceding  Cutler's  Freshman  year,  is  a  good  contemporary 
comment  upon  the  conditions  of  the  time.    It  should,  however,  be  read 

2  Letter  to  Stiles,  quoted  in  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  II,  p.  682.    Cf.  Ibid.,  p.  723. 

3  Stiles,  Diary,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  332. 

[  1*73  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

bearing  in  mind  that  eighteenth  century  college  officers  were  prone 
to  exaggerate  undergraduate  evils,  accepting  as  wicked  much  that 
would  today  be  considered  as  blameworthy  or  perhaps  only  as  the 
exuberance  of  youth: 

Whereas  the  principle  End  and  Design  of  founding  this  College  was  to  promote 
Religion  and  Learning:  that  young  Men  being  trained  up  in  the  Ways  of  Piety  and 
Virtue  might  be  qualified  for  doing  peculiar  Service  to  God,  especially  in  the  Work 
of  the  Ministry.  And  yet  the  Conduct  of  some  who  have  been  admitted  is  visibly 
repugnant  to  that  good  End  and  Design.  Particularly  they  are  very  negligent  in 
attending  on  Prayers  and  Recitations,  Recite  but  poorly  and  behave  themselves 
with  Levity,  Whispering  and  Inattention  at  Prayers  and  Recitations,  are  frequently 
out  of  their  Chambers,  spending  their  Time  in  Idleness  loud  Talk  and  Laughter  in 
Studying  Time,  and  frequently  make  indecent  and  disturbing  Noises  of  various 
Kinds  in  play  Time,  spend  a  considerable  Part  of  their  Time  at  Taverns,  and 
generally  show  an  habitual  Disposition  of  Mind  inclined  to  Vanity.  And  whereas 
there  are  many  secret  Acts  of  Wickedness  done  in  the  Dark,  which  are  very  evident 
by  the  Effects,  and  yet  the  particular  Actors  are  not  easy  to  be  detected,  such  as 
stealing  the  Great  Bible  and  the  Monitors  Bills  tearing  off  the  Caseings  from  the 
Windows,  stealing  the  Weights  tareing  the  Laths,  Plastering  and  Boards  from 
the  Walls  of  the  House,  cutting  down  the  Clock  Case,  ringing  the  Bell,  contrary  to 
Law,  and  many  such  Things  as  betoken  a  wicked  Temper  of  Mind,  opposite  to  all 
that  is  good,  and  destructive  to  the  great  End  of  the  Institution  of  this  Society, 
and  which  Render  Persons  unworthy  of  being  Members  of  it.  This  Board  being 
very  desirous  that  this  Society  always  be  kept  pure  and  well  answer  the  Ends 
of  its  Institution,  direct  the  Executive  Officers  of  College  to  be  strict  in  visiting  the 
Chambers  of  the  Students  according  to  Law,  and  in  observing  remembering  and 
(if  need  be)  noting  down  their  Behaviour  in  all  the  Articles  before  mentioned,  and 
all  other  things  relating  to  the  good  Order  of  College,  and  in  punishing  them  accord- 
ing to  Law,  and  in  all  Instances  where  it  shall  be  found  that  the  lesser  Punishments 
are  treated  with  Levity  and  Contempt,  or  are  not  sufficient  to  reform  the  Persons, 
then  the  Officers  shall  proceed  to  the  greater  Punishments,  such  as  Admonition  before 
the  President  and  Tutors  or  more  publicly  in  the  Hall  at  their  Discretion,  and  if  in 
any  particular  Instance  it  shall  be  found  that  these  Punishments  shall  be  insufficient 
to  reform  the  Persons,  or  if  they  should  persist  in  the  Practice  of  such  Crimes  as 
betoken  an  habitual  Indisposition  toward  Studies  and  a  Love  to  Idleness  and  Dis- 
order or  if  upon  Examination  at  any  Time  it  shall  be  found  that  any  Students  are 
grossly  Defective  in  these  Points  of  Knowledge  and  Learning  which  they  might 
have  been  acquainted  with  according  to  their  Standing,  such  Person  or  Persons 
shall  be  dismissed  from  being  Members  of  the  College,  altho  they  have  not  been 
guilty  of  any  such  great  Crimes  as,  according  to  the  Laws  of  College,  are  not  worthy 
of  Expulsion — * 

*  MS.  Records  Yale  Corporation,  July  21,  1761.  The  following  action  was  taken  at  the 
same   meeting:     "This   Board   being   fully   determined   to   put   a   Stop   to   those   vicious    and 

[174] 


STATESMEN— MANASSEH  CUTLER 

The  only  breach  of  college  rules  for  which  Cutler  himself  suffered  is 
thus  described  in  the  Faculty  records : 

Whereas  Patrick,  Williams,  Cutler,  Nichols  &  Scot,  Members  of  this  College, 
have  been  lately  guilty  of  playing  at  Cards,  as  appears  by  their  own  confession, 
which  Practise  is  of  a  very  ensnaring,  dangerous  and  hurtful  Tendency,  peculiarly 
destructive  to  Study,  which  is  one  principal  End  of  College,  and  likewise  introductory 
to  various  pernicuous  Vices ;  which  is  therefore  strictly  forbidden  by  the  Laws  of 
this  College,  and  by  the  Laws  of  the  Colony,  and  by  no  means  to  be  tolerated  in 
this  Society:  it  is  considered  and  determined  by  the  President  with  the  Advice  of 
the  Tutors,  that  they  be  fined  half  a  Crown  each,  according  to  Law.^ 

It  should  be  said  to  his  credit  that  he  confessed  his  fault  when  charged 
with  this  offense,  in  contrast  to  some  of  his  companions  who  were 
more  seriously  punished  as  they  "were  guilty  of  wilful  Falshood  in 
denying  the  Fact." 

In  the  spring  of  Cutler's  Junior  year  an  incident  occurred  which 
stirred  the  entire  undergraduate  community,  and  formed  an  important 
chapter  in  the  struggle  of  the  students  to  rid  themselves  of  attending 
Commons."    Here  is  a  contemporary  account : 

Last  Saturday  being  at  Court,  about  noon  we  were  surprised  with  a  very 
melancholly  Story  from  College.  82  of  the  Students  [out  of  92  in  Commons]  were 
seized  with  violent  Vomitings,  great  Thirst,  Weakness  in  the  Extremities  and  some 
with  Spasms,  and  other  Symptoms  of  Poison.  By  the  Use  of  Emetics,  Oleaginous 
and  mucilaginous  Draughts  they  are  recovered,  saving  that  some  are  yet  weak  in 
their  joynts  and  affected  in  their  Eyes.  The  Physicians  conjecture  it  to  be  Arsenic, 
mixed  with  the  Cake,  on  which  they  all  Breakfasted.  The  French  People  are  very 
generally  suspected.^ 

It  was  never  proved  that  the  French  cooks,  exiled  Acadians,  had 

extravagant  Practices,  which  have  for  many  Years  past  attended  the  publick  Commencements: 
do  determine  this  Day  to  give  the  Degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  to  the  appro%'ed  Candidates. 
And  do  Order  that  none  of  them  shall  have  in  their  Chambers,  in  College,  or  in  the  Town, 
any  Kind  of  strong  Drink,  besides  one  Quart  of  Wine  and  one  Pint  of  Rnm,  for  each  Candidate 
in  a  Chamber.  And  if  any  Candidate  or  any  one  newly  Graduated  sliall  have  any  more  or 
other  Strong  Drink,  than  the  Quantity  aforesaid,  or  send  for  any  more  strong  Drink,  during 
this  Week,  or  if  any  Company  of  them  shall  get  together  and  have  any  Strong  Drink  in  the 
Town,  he  or  they  shall  be  deprived  of  all  the  future  Honours  of  the  College,  and  all  under- 
graduates are  entirely  prohibited  from  having  any  Strong  Drink  in  their  Chambers,  upon 
Penalty  of  the  Law  already  provided,  and  all  the  Graduates  and  Undergraduates  are  especially 
commanded  to  be  in  their  Chambers,  immediately  after  Nine  o'Clock  at  Night,  and  to  be 
careful  to  abstain  from  making  any  Disturbance  or  loud  Noise,  and  that  with  an  especial 
Regard  to  the  Fast  agreed  upon  in  the  Town  to  be  Tomorrow." 

5  MS.  Judgments  &  Acts  of  the  President  &  Tutors,  No.  3,  p.  66. 

6  For  a  history  of  the  Yale  Commons,  see  Kingsley,  Yale  College,  Vol.  I,  p.  297. 

7  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  57. 

[175] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

anything  to  do  with  the  trouble.  It  is  much  more  probable  that  the 
students  themselves  arranged  the  entire  affair  so  as  "to  bring  a  Slur 
upon  the  Provisions  made  in  the  Hall,"  to  quote  from  President 
Clap's  record  of  the  incident.  This  supposition  is  confirmed  by  the 
fact  that  the  poison  was  of  so  light  a  character  that  its  bad  effects 
yielded  readily  to  "Oleaginous  and  mucilaginous  Draughts,"  remedies 
which  appear,  in  the  perspective  of  a  century  and  a  half,  as  much  more 
to  be  feared  than  the  ills  they  were  intended  to  cure ! 

The  student  body  of  the  time  reflected  the  political  attitude  of 
the  colonies  towards  the  mother  country.  In  November,  1764,  a 
Senior  wrote  to  his  father: 

Shall  not  want  that  Cherry  you  Reserved  for  me  before  vacancy,  as  all  the 
Scholars  have  unanimously  agreed  not  to  Drink  any  foreign  spirituous  Liquors  any 
more,  a  scheme  proposed  by  Mr.  Woodhull  &  seconded  by  the  other  Tutors  &  the 
scholars  in  succession;  there  was  no  Compulsion,  but  all  a  voluntary  Act.® 

To  understand  the  point  of  view,  the  word  foreign  should  be  under- 
scored. It  was  a  patriotic  rather  than  a  temperance  wave  that  was 
sweeping  over  the  College.  The  speeches  of  James  Otis,  and  of 
Patrick  Henry,  had  been  read  in  New  Haven,  and  the  colonies  were 
getting  ready  to  oppose  Grenville's  stamp  duties,  which  had  been 
proposed  the  previous  spring. 

Towards  the  end  of  Junior  year,  Rev.  George  Whitefield  again 
visited  New  Haven  after  an  absence  of  about  twenty  years. ^  He 
preached  with  great  effect.  To  quote  his  own  words:  "the  students 
were  so  deeply  impressed  by  the  sermon,  that  they  were  gone  into 
the  chapel  and  earnestly  entreated  me  to  give  them  one  more  quarter 
of  an  hour's  exhortation.""  But  it  was  politics  rather  than  religion 
that  most  stirred  the  college  communitj^  at  this  time. 

Such  were  the  conditions  of  undergraduate  life  when  Cutler  was 
a  student.  As  to  his  own  course,  we  know  from  an  early  historian 
of  his  locality  that  he  was   "distinguished  for  diligence   and  pro- 

8  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  94. 

9  See  under  Brainerd. 

10  Tyerman,  Life  of  Whitefield,  Vol.  I,  p.  476. 

[176] 


Maxasskh  Cutler 

Class  of   \765 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  Ml  \ 

anj'thing  to  do  with  the  trouble.  It  is  much  more  prohahle  that  the 
students  themselves  arranged  the  entire  affair  so  as  "to  bring  a  Slur 
upon  the  Provisions  made  in  the  Hall,"  to  quote  from  President 
Clap's  record  of  the  incident.  This  supposition  is  confirmed  by  the 
fact  that  the  poison  was  of  so  light  a  character  that  its  bad  effects 
yielded  readily  to  "Oleaginous  and  mucilaginous  Draughts,"  remedies 
which  appear,  in  the  perspective  of  a  century  and  a  half,  as  much  more 
to  be  feared  than  the  ills  they  were  intended  to  cure ! 

The  student  body  of  the  time  reflected  the  political  attitude  of 
the  colonies  towards  the  mother  country.  In  November,  1764,  a 
Senior  wrote  to  his  father: 

Shall  not  want  that  Cherry  you  Reserved  for  me  before  vacancy,  as  all  the 
Scholars  have  unanimously  agreed  not  to  Drink  any  foreign  spirituous  Liquors  any 
more,  a  scheme  proposed  by  Mr.  WoodhuU  &  seconded  by  the  other  Tutors  &  the 
scholars  in  succession;  there  was  no  Compulsion,  but  all  a  voluntary  Act.* 

To  understand  the  point  of  view,  the  word  foreign  should  be  under- 
scored. It  was  a  patriotic  rather  than  a  temperance  wave  that  was 
sweeping  over  the  College.  The  speeches  of  James  Otis,  and  of 
Patrick  Henry,  had  been  read  in  New  Haven,  and  the  colonies  were 
getting  ready  to  oppose  Grenville's  stamp  duties,  which  had  been 
proposed  the  previous  spring. 

Towards  the  end  of  Junior  year.  Rev.  George  Whitefield  again 
visited  New  Haven  after  an  absence  of  about  twenty  years.®  He 
preached  with  great  effect.  To  quote  his  own  words:  "the  students 
were  so  deeply  impressed  by  the  sermon,  that  they  were  gone  into 
the  chapel  and  earnestly  entreated  me  to  give  them  one  more  quarter 
of  an  hour's  exhortation.""  But  it  was  politics  rather  than  religion 
that  most  stirred  the  college  communit}'^  at  this  time. 

Such  were  the  conditions  of  undergraduate  life  when  Cutler  was 
a  student.  As  to  his  own  course,  we  know  from  an  early  historian 
of  his  locality  that  he  was  "distinguished  for  diligence  and  pro- 


\'ale  B.  and  A.,  Vof'ln,  p 
'  r  Brainerd. 
i'<  1  v^.nuan,  Life  of  Whitefield,  Vc49|'Jp.''«7«8Aj3 


[176] 


STATESMEN— MANASSEH  CUTLER 

ficiency,"  and  graduated  with  high  honor.  He  was  Chancellor  of  the 
Linonian  Society,  and  took  much  interest  in  mathematics  and  natural 
science,  especially  astronomj?-.  A  manuscript  is  still  in  existence 
entitled  "Manasseh  Cutler,  his  Book  of  Astronomical  Recreations, 
Performed  at  Yale  College,  N.  Haven,  A.D.  1763."  The  title  page 
contains  an  extract  from  Virgil,  beginning  with  words  which  seem 
particularly  appropriate  to  our  student: 

Felix,  qui  potuit  rerum  cognoscere  causas^^ 

Cutler,  whose  social  rank  placed  him  fourth  from  the  bottom 
on  the  list  of  forty-five  Master  of  Arts  candidates,  supported  at 
Commencement,  1768,  the  affirmative  of  An  sacris  Scripturis 
conveniatj,  ut  omnes  in  rejmhlica  Christiana  teneantur  lege  Civili 
sumptum  facer e  ad  publicum  Dei  cultum? 

There  is  an  interesting  autobiographic  account  of  one  of  his  later 
visits  to  the  College.  He  seems  to  have  been  specially  moved  when  he 
came  to  the  Chapel : 

A  view  of  the  seats,  pews,  and  gallery,  called  up  a  series  of  reflections  on  the 
hours  I  had  spent  within  those  walls,  at  public  worship,  in  public  examinations 
every  quarter,  and  various  exhibitions,  that  sensibly  moved  my  tenderer  passions. 
....  But  the  most  affecting  change  to  me  is  the  loss  of  Mother  Yale.  Yale 
College  was  by  far  the  most  sightly  building  of  any  one  that  belonged  to  the 
University,  and  most  advantageously  situated.  It  gave  an  air  of  grandeur  to  the 
others.  There  are  now  only  Connecticut  Hall,  the  Chapel,  which  is  three  stories, 
containing  the  Library  and  Cabinet,  also  the  Dining-hall  and  Kitchen. ^- 

After  graduation  Cutler's  work  varied  with  the  years.  He 
taught  school,  was  a  merchant,  and  was  then  admitted  to  the  Bar, 
but  later  gave  up  these  pursuits  for  the  ministry.  This  ma^^  be 
considered  his  major  occupation  after  his  settlement  over  the  church 
in  Ipswich,  in  1771.  Even  then  his  manifold  activity,  and  the 
financial  needs  of  his  family,  demanded  other  outlets  and  inlets  than 
the  church  provided,  and  we  find  him  practicing  medicine,  rendering 
some  service  in  the  Revolutionary  Army  as  a  brave  chaplain,^^  and 

11  MS.  is  in  Essex  Institute,  Salem,  Massachusetts. 

i2Lt7e  of  Cutler,  under  date  of  July  2,  1787. 

13  See  Manasseh  Cutler  in  Appleton,  American  Biography,  Vol.  II,  p.  47. 

[  177  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

conducting,  for  several  decades,  a  successful  boarding  school.     In 

addition  to  his  regular  ministry,  his  two  main  interests  were  the  study 

of  botany,  and  the  development  of  the  Northwestern  Territory.     It 

is  because  of  his  achievements  in  these  directions,  and  especially  in 

the  latter,  that  his  name  is  included  in  this  volume.    President  Stiles 

records  in  his  diary  for  July  2,  1787: 

The  Rev^  Manasseh  Cutler  of  Ipswitch  visited  us.  He  is  a  great  Botanist,  & 
is  travellg  on  to  Philad^  to  inspect  all  Vegetables  &  Plants  in  their  State  of  Flowering, 
with  the  View  of  pfecting  his  Publication  upon  Indigenous  American  Plants  ranged 
into  Classes,  Genera  &  Species  according  to  the  sexual  or  Linnaean  System.^* 

Cutler's  knowledge  of  botany  was  probably  surpassed  by  no  American 
of  his  generation.  He  has  been  called  the  "Father  of  Xew  England 
Botan}^"  and  had  most  of  his  manuscript  studies^^  been  published, 
his  scientific  standing  would  be  more  generally  recognized  today.^* 
Fortunately  many  of  his  papers  on  botany  and  astronomy  are 
preserved  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and 
Sciences,  of  which  he  was  a  prominent  member.  One  of  these  is  of 
special  value  as  the  earliest  scholarly  description  and  classification  of 
the  flora  of  New  England.  Three  hundred  and  fifty  species  are 
included. 

Cutler's  work  of  historical  importance  was  in  connection  with 
the  development  of  the  West  and  Northwest.  His  interest  in 
this  project  began  in  1786,  when  he  united  with  other  Revolutionary 
officers  in  founding  the  Ohio  Company,  which  was  to  promote 
settlement  "by  the  most  robust  and  industrious  people  in  America." 
This  organization  has  been  called  the  first  group  of  people 
"to  conceive  and  execute  on  a  large  scale  a  compact  and  systematic 
settlement  of  the  countr\\"^^  It  was  several  years  before  another 
prominent  graduate.  General  Moses  Cleaveland  (B.A.  1777),  led  the 
exploring  party  into  Northern  Ohio,  which  resulted  in  the  founding 

1*  stiles,  Diary,  Vol.  IIT,  p.  68. 

15  Many  of  these  are  in  the  Harvard  College  Herbarium. 

16  Stephen  Elliott  (B.A.  1791),  author  of  A  Sketch  of  the  Botany  of  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia,  was  another  eminent  early  Yale  botanist.  Although  a  South  Caroluiian,  Harvard, 
Yale,  and  Columbia  all  gave  him  the  Doctor  of  Laws  degree. 

17  Life  of  Cutler,  p.  130. 

[178] 


STATESMEN— MANASSEH  CUTLER 

of  Cleveland — the  "a"  of  the  founder's  name  being  dropped  owing 
to  its  accidental  omission  bj;-  a  type-setter,  who  was  making  up  a  copy 
of  the  local  newspaper.  As  agent  of  the  new  company,  Cutler  visited 
Washington  with  Major  Winthrop  Sargent,  and,  after  difficult 
negotiations,  contracted  for  a  million  and  a  half  acres  beyond  the  Ohio 
River.  He  then  organized  an  expedition  to  effect  the  necessary 
settlement.  It  started  from  his  house  in  Ipswich,  forty-five  strong, 
and  reached,  in  about  four  months,  the  site  of  Marietta,  which  was 
founded  under  General  Israel  Putnam.  Before  leaving  for  the  West, 
Cutler  had  materially  assisted  Nathan  Dane  in  drawing  up  the  famous 
Ordinance  of  1787,  which  laid  down  the  form  of  government  for  the 
entire  Northwest  Territory — a  prerequisite  to  his  proposed  develop- 
ment of  the  country.  It  contained  several  striking  features,  among 
them  the  prohibition  of  slavery,  the  setting  apart  of  two  townships 
as  a  foundation  for  a  university  (a  provision  for  which  Cutler  was 
personally  responsible),  the  guaranteeing  of  proper  treatment  to 
the  Indian,  and  the  well-known  words,  "Religion,  morality,  and 
knowledge,  being  necessary  to  good  government  and  the  happiness 
of  mankind,  schools  and  the  means  of  education  shall  forever  be 
encouraged."  It  is  probable  that  so  liberal  and  statesmanlike  a  law 
would  not  have  been  proposed  to  Congress,  and  it  is,  humanly  speak- 
ing, certain  that  it  would  not  have  been  adopted,  had  it  not  been  for 
the  wisdom  and  earnestness  of  Manasseh  Cutler.  He  was  both 
indefatigable  and  eloquent  in  its  behalf.  Wlien  it  is  studied  with 
reference  to  the  development  of  the  nation,  it  does  not  seem  surprising 
that  Daniel  Webster  should  have  said  that  he  doubted  "whether  one 
single  law  of  any  lawgiver,  ancient  or  modern,  has  produced  effects 
of  more  distinct,  marked,  and  lasting  character,"'^  or  that  historians 
of  note  should  place  it  next  only  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
and  the  Constitution,  for  its  influence  on  American  history.'" 

Dr.  Cutler's  later  life  was  mostly  spent  in  Ipswich,  where  he 

18  Quoted  in  Report  of  American  Historical  Association  for  1896,  Vol.  I,  p.  56. 

19  Cf.  Elson,  History  of  the  United  States,  p.  324,  and  Channing,  History  of  the  United 
States,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  547. 

[  179] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

continued  to  the  end  a  devoted  parish  minister,  and  an  earnest  student 
of  natural  science.  He  declined  an  appointment  to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  Ohio  Territory,  but  served  in  the  Massachusetts  Legis- 
lature, and  was  for  four  years  in  Congress,  being  elected  as  a 
Federalist.  It  was  appropriate  that  such  distinguished  public  ser- 
vices should  receive  recognition  from  his  Alma  Mater,  which 
conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws,  but  it  is  unfortu- 
nate that  there  is  no  memorial  to  him  at  the  University.  President 
Northrop  and  President  Gilman  both  paid  him  high  tributes  at  the 
Yale  Bicentennial  Celebration,  but  this  is  not  enough — for  it  is  due 
to  his  foresight,  more  than  to  any  other  single  cause,  that  the  great 
state  universities  of  the  West  and  Northwest  have  been  able  to  develop 
into  such  noble  institutions.  His  career  was  full  of  variety,  activity, 
and  interest.  It  was  dominated  throughout  by  the  ideal  of  Christian 
service,  and  consequently  he  was  respected  by  all  who  knew  him.  As 
Rev.  Dr.  Storrs  said  in  his  inaugural  address  as  President  of  the 
American  Historical  Association : 

No  glamour  of  romance  invests  his  name ;  it  does  not  loom  through  mists  of  a 
legendary  past;  but  Dr.  A.  P.  Peabody,  of  Cambridge,  is  reported  to  have  said  of 
him,  what  I  gladly  repeat:  "For  diversity  of  great  gifts,  for  their  efficient  use,  and 
for  the  variety  of  modes  of  honorable  service  to  his  country  and  to  mankind,  I  doubt 
whether  Manasseh  Cutler  has  had  his  equal  in  American  history. ^^ 

The  Life,  Journals  and  Correspondence  of  Rev.  Manasseh 
Cutler,  JLLi.D.,  by  his  grandchildren,  William  Parker  Cutler  and 
Julia  Perkins  Cutler,  is  an  important  two-volume  biography.  The 
University  Library  has  a  tj^pewritten  copy  of  "A  Common-Place- 
Book  Began  &  Keept  at  Yale  College  in  New  Haven  June  ye  10th 
1762  By  Manasseh  Cutler,  Student." 


Ipswich  May  13^^  1783. 
Sir, 

The  several  Committees,  appointed  at  the  last  meeting  of  the  American 
Academy,    meet    [sic]    at    Cambridge    on    the    25*^'^    of    March    last.      Upon 

^^  Report  of  the  American  Historical  Association,  1896,  Vol.  I,  p.  60. 

[180] 


STATESMEN— MANASSEH  CUTLER 

examining  the  papers  on  file,  they  were  happy  to  find  a  greater  number  that 
may  be  worthy  publication  than  was  expected. — And  proceeded  to  agree  on 
a  number  of  articles,  which  I  have  the  honour  of  communicating  to  you. 

The  greater  part  of  the  communications  on  file  belong  to  our  department, 
M'".  Parsons  agrees  with  me  in  opinion  that  many  of  them  can  not  fail  of 
meeting  y^  approbation  of  y^  public.  But  as  the  literary  character  of  this 
state  abroad  will  be  greatly  concerned  in  the  first  publication  of  the  American 
Academy,  papers  for  this  volume  ought  to  be  selected  with  the  utmost  care  & 
attention.  Our  greatest  deficiency  seems  to  be  in  essays,  observations  & 
experiments  on  the  natural  productions  of  this  Country.  Improvements  in  y^ 
various  branches  of  Agriculture,  &  those  useful  Arts  which  will  advance  the 
internal  wealth  &  happiness  of  our  Citizens  will  be  of  greater  public  utility 
than  matters  of  mere  science,  &  ought,  doubtless,  to  be  the  first  objects  of  our 
attention. 

We  have  a  report  that  a  Gentleman  in  Philadelphia  has  discovered  a 
vegetable  production  that  effectually  cures  Cancers,  which  have  so  long  been 
the  opprobrium  of  the  Medical  Art ;  &  that  this  remedy  has  received  the 
approbation  of  the  Physicians  of  the  first  character  in  that  City.  I  wish  to 
know  whether  this  be  fact.  If  it  be  so,  could  a  description  of  this  vegetable 
be  obtained,  tho'  the  method  of  preparing  &  applying  it,  in  this  particular 
case,  be  kept  a  secret,  it  may  be  a  valuable  acquision  [sic].  Botanical 
descriptions,  likenesses  [.f'],  of  any  rare  or  valuable  vegetable  productions  will 
be  considered  of  importance. 

Your  letter,  with  the  inclosed  sentiments  of  your  friend  on  the  growth  of 
plants  communicated  by  y^  Hon.  Gen^.  Warren,  gives  me  great  pleasure.  The 
principles  of  vegetation  seem  still  to  remain  the  arcana  of  science,  but  even 
while  we  are  attempting  to  support  hypotheses  by  critical  observations  & 
experiments  we  may  be  led  to  a  more  certain  knowledge  of  y^  operations  of 
nature,  in  the  vegetable  Kingdom,  than  has  yet  been  ascertained.  I  could 
wish  we  might  be  favoured  with  further  communications  from  that  ingenious 
Gentleman.  I  shall  esteem  it  a  favor,  if  their  [sic]  be  no  impropriety,  to  be 
informed  of  his  name  &  place  of  abode. 

Give  me  leave.  Sir,  to  assure  you,  of  our  dependance  on  further  commu- 
nications from  you  before  the  collection  for  the  first  volume  is  closed,  &  our 
intire  confidence  that  shuch  [sic]  as  you  shall  judge  of  importance,  which  may 
fall  in  your  way,  you  will  readily  make. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be  with  sentiments  of  y^  highest  esteem,  Sir, 
your  most  obedient  &  most  humble  Serv*. 

Manasseh  Cutler 
[181] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

P.  S.     I  am  desired  to  ask  y^  favor  of  you  to  inform  me,  whether  y® 
Philosophical  Society  at  Philadelphia  propose  soon  to  publish  another  volume 
of  transactions. 
Hon^^^  Benjamin  Lincoln  Esq''. 

This  letter  reflects  in  a  most  interesting  way  scientific  knowl- 
edge in  this  country  at  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War.  It  has 
to  do  mainly  with  the  first  publication  of  the  Memoirs  of  the  American 
Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences.  This  Academy  is,  next  to  the 
American  Philosophical  Society,  also  mentioned  by  Cutler,  the  oldest 
of  the  learned  societies  of  its  character  in  America.  Cutler  belonged 
to  both  organizations.  The  former  was  founded  in  1780.  The  state- 
ment of  purpose  contained  in  its  charter  might  well  have  been  written 
by  Cutler  himself,  so  characteristic  is  it  of  him.  This  is  declared  to  be 
"to  promote  and  encourage  the  knowledge  of  the  Antiquities  of 
America,  and  of  the  natural  history  of  the  country,  and  to  determine 
the  uses  to  which  the  various  natural  productions  of  the  country 
may  be  applied,  to  promote  and  encourage  medical  discoveries, 
mathematical  disquisitions,  philosophical  inquiries  and  experiments, 
meteorological  and  geographical  observations  and  improvements  in 
agriculture,  arts,  manufactures,  and  commerce;  and,  in  fine,  to  culti- 
vate every  art  and  science  which  may  tend  to  advance  the  interest, 
honor,  dignity,  and  happiness  of  a  free,  independent,  and  virtuous 
people."  The  first  volume  of  Memoirs  did  not  appear  until  1785,  two 
years  after  this  letter  was  written.  It  contains  several  contributions 
by  Cutler.  These  include  Astronomical  and  Meteorological  Observa- 
tions, and  his  important  Account  of  some  of  the  Vegetable  Produc- 
tions, naturally  growing  in  this  Part  of  America,  botanically  arranged. 


[182] 


STATESMEN— ABRAHAM  BALDWIN 

Abraham  Baldwin 
Class  of  1772 

Born,  November  22,  1754;  Died,  March  4,  1807 

One  of  the  Framers  of  the  United  States  Constitution, 

and  Founder  of  the  University  of  Georgia 

Abraham  Baldwin,  like  two  other  famous  Yale  graduates — 
Lyman  Beecher  and  Silas  Deane — was  the  son  of  a  blacksmith.  He 
was  born  in  North  Guilford,  Connecticut.  The  stock  must  have  been 
good,  even  though  humble,  for  several  of  the  family  were  sent  to 
college  and  showed  large  abilities.  One  half-brother,  Henry  Baldwin 
(B.A.  1797),  was  appointed  a  Justice  of  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court,  and  a  sister  became  the  wife  of  the  poet  and  diplomat,  Joel 
Barlow  (q.v.).  It  speaks  well  for  the  sturdy  blacksmith  that  he 
removed  to  New  Haven,  when  Abraham  was  a  Freshman,  for  the 
better  education  of  his  children. 

Baldwin  was  a  member  of  Linonia,  and  its  friendships  and 
opportunities  for  intellectual  training  meant  much  to  him.  The 
records  show  that  he  was  a  frequent  participator  in  meetings  and 
debates.  For  instance,  "the  question  proposed  by  Baldwin  to  be 
recorded  was  this,  Qu.  At  what  time  did  the  Latin  Language  arive 
[sic]  to  the  greatest  perfection  in  the  City  of  Rome?  Ans.  About 
fifty  years  before  and  after  the  Reign  of  Augustus."^  This  refers 
to  the  custom  of  propounding  some  "curious  question"^  for  discussion 
at  each  meeting.  We  can,  in  a  measure,  enter  into  the  early  bond  of 
this  society  by  reading  these  closing  words  of  the  Valedictory  at  the 
Anniversary  in  his  Senior  year.  It  was  by  Elisha  Billings,  and  is  the 
oldest  of  these  addresses  to  have  been  preserved.  It  has  an  added 
interest  from  the  fact  that  the  Junior  Orator  who  responded  to  it  was 
Nathan  Hale  (q.v.). 


1  MS.  Records  of  Linonia,  July  25,  1770. 

2  Ibid.,  November  20,  1771. 


[183] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Dear  Class-mates,  For  almost  four  years  we  have  been  nearly  connected  as 
Class-mates ;  but  more  so  as  sons  of  Linonia.  A  thousand  pleasing  things  have 
rendered  us  not  only  friends,  but  brothers;  and  how  agreably  have  the  hours  roll'd, 
in  delightful  Conversation?  But  alas!  these  charming,  pleasing  and  delightful 
Scenes  are  now  drawn  to  a  close.  Then  fare  well  Linonia,  dear  Class-mates  fare 
well,  Gentlemen  one  and  all  fare  well,  a  long  a  long  farewell  !^ 

After  graduation  he  studied  theology  and  then  returned  to 
college,  where  he  served  as  tutor  for  four  years.  President  Stiles 
speaks  of  him  as  "a  good  Hebrician,"*  and  "a  very  excellent  &  worthy 
Man."^  He  was  deeply  interested  in  English  literature  and  was 
doubtless  mainly  responsible  for  the  conditions  described  in  a  contem- 
porary criticism  of  the  Junior  and  Freshman  classes,  which,  in  the 
autumn  of  1777,  were  under  Professors  Strong  and  Baldwin  at 
Glastonbury.  They  "have  left  the  more  solid  parts  of  Learn^  &  run 
into  Plays  &  dramatic  Exhibitions  cliiefly  of  the  comic  kind  &  turn'd 
College  ....  into  Drury  Lane."^'  Here  we  have  the  early 
beginnings  of  the  Yale  Dramatic  Association! 

On  leaving  the  tutorship,  in  1779,  he  served  until  the  war's  close 
as  a  chaplain  in  the  army.  He  found  time  to  make  occasional  visits 
to  New  Haven,  where  he  preached  to  the  students  in  the  Chapel.  In 
1781,  he  was  elected  Professor  of  Divinity  in  the  College,  a  remarkable 
appointment  for  a  j^oung  man  of  twenty-six.  The  other  candidates 
were  eminent  divines,  such  as  Reverend  Messrs.  Wales  and  Buck- 
minster.    President  Stiles,  discussing  the  selection,  says: 

Mr.  Bald,  was  equal  to  both  collectively  as  to  the  Languages,  Philosophy,  belles 
Lettres,  &  History  &  the  Sciences  in  general,  modest,  prudent,  judicious,  well 
accepted  at  College,  his  Elocution  good,  &  tho'  young  in  the  study  of  Div^  yet 
judged  sound  &  orthodox  particularly  by  Mr.  Huntington  who  had  heard  him 
preach  two  sermons  upon  the  topical  subjects  of  human  Depravity  &  the  Atone- 
ment— and  as  he  was  studious  from  his  youth  up  &  hopefully  would  continue  to  be 
so,  it  was  expected  that  he  would  become  the  learned  Theologian. '^ 

This  estimate  of  his  ability  was  evidently  shared  by  the  Corporation, 
which  "being  satisfied  of  the  expediency  of  taking  further  measures 

3  Linonia  Society,  MS.  Orations  and  Dissertations,  p.  20. 

4  Stiles,  Diary,  Vol.  II,  p.  291. 

5  Ibid.,  p.  347.         6  Ibid.,  Vol.  II,  p.  230.         f  Ibid.,  Vol.  II,  p.  500. 

[184] 


STATESMEN— ABRAHAM  BALDWIN 

to  obtain  his  acceptance  unanimously  voted  for  his  Encouragement 
a  salary  of  £l30,"*  as  well  as  a  house,  and  the  promise  of  later 
increases.  But  he  declined  the  call,  partly,  according  to  Stiles,  because 
of  the  insufficient  salary,  partly  because  of  his  "Prospect  of  being 
called,  together  with  a  Group  or  Cluster  of  Geniuses  into  a  Literary 
Institution  hereafter."^  The  incident  is  of  interest  as  showing  the 
fine  impression  which  Baldwin  had  made  as  a  young  man  upon  the 
Yale  authorities. 

After  the  war  he  went  South  at  General  Greene's  suggestion, 
and  took  up  the  practice  of  law  in  Georgia.  In  1784,  when  a  member 
of  the  state  legislature,  he  originated  the  plan  for  the  University  of 
Georgia,  drew  up  its  charter  the  following  year,  secured  from  the 
state  an  endowment  of  forty  thousand  acres,  and  served  as  President 
long  enough  to  effect  the  organization  of  the  institution.  He  was  only 
thirty-one  when  he  accomplished  this  important  work,  which  entitles 
him  to  be  considered  as  the  Founder  and  Father  of  the  University. 
Many  educational  features  of  the  institution  were  modeled  after  his 
Alma  Mater,  while  the  first  important  building,  still  standing,  was 
copied  after  Connecticut  Hall.  The  preamble  of  the  charter  contains 
Baldwin's  sound  justification  for  the  enterprise: 

As  it  is  the  distinguishing  happiness  of  free  governments  that  civil  order  should 
be  the  result  of  choice  and  not  of  necessity,  and  the  common  wishes  of  the  people 
become  the  laws  of  the  land,  their  public  prosperity  and  even  existence  very  much 

depend  upon  suitably  forming  the  minds  and  morals  of  their  citizens This 

is  an  influence  beyond  the  reach  of  laws  and  punishments,  and  can  be  claimed  only 
by  religion  and  education.  It  should  therefore  be  among  the  first  objects  of  those 
who  wish  well  to  the  national  prosperity  to  encourage  and  support  the  principles 
of  religion  and  morality,  and  early  to  place  the  youth  under  the  forming  hand  of 
society,  that  by  instruction  they  may  be  moulded  to  the  love  of  virtue  and  good 
order.^° 

In  1785  he  was  elected  to  the  Continental  Congress,  and,  for  the 
remaining  twenty-two  years  of  his  life,  he  was  a  figure  of  national 

8  MS.  Records  Yale  Corporation  for  1781,  p.  78. 

9  Stiles,  Diary,  Vol.  II,  p.  556. 

10  Jones,  Biographical  Sketches  of  the  Delegates  from  Georgia  to  the  Continental  Congress, 
p.  6. 

[185] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

importance,  devoting  his  time  entirely  to  the  service  of  the  pubhc  in 
helping  to  create  and  start  the  new  government.  His  most  lasting 
political  work  was  performed  as  the  "ablest  member""  from  his  state 
of  the  Convention^^  of  1787,  wliich  framed  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.  His  vote  at  one  stage  of  the  proceedings  was  of  large 
significance.  It  came  when  the  question  of  the  method  of  representa- 
tion of  the  different  states  in  Congress  was  under  discussion.  Five 
states  had  voted  for  equality  of  suffrage  in  the  Senate,  and  five  had 
opposed  it.  Georgia  remained  to  be  heard  from.  Her  vote  was 
divided,  and  consequently  did  not  count.  John  Fiske  thus  refers  to 
the  incident : 

It  was  Abraham  Baldwin,  a  native  of  Connecticut  and  lately  a  tutor  in  Yale 
College,  a  recent  emigrant  to  Georgia,  who  thus  divided  the  vote  of  that  state,  and 
prevented  a  decision  which  would  in  all  probability  have  broken  up  the  convention. 
His  state  was  the  last  to  vote,  and  the  house  was  hushed  in  anxious  expectation, 
when  this  brave  and  wise  young  man  yielded  his  private  conviction  to  what  he  saw 
to  be  the  paramount  necessity  of  keeping  the  convention  together.  All  honour  to 
his  memory  !^^ 

He  was  a  member  of  the  first  national  House  of  Representatives,  and 
continued  in  this  body  until  his  transfer  to  the  Senate,  in  1799.  Here 
his  ability  and  reputation  for  fairness  and  sound  judgment  were  so 
conspicuous  that  he  served  as  President  pro  tempore  both  in  1801 
and  in  1802.  He  started  his  public  career  as  a  Federalist,  but  his 
later  affiliations  were  with  the  Democrats. 

Baldwin  was  a  patriot  of  strength  of  character,  and  of  construc- 
tive ability.  The  zeal  for  education  which  he  developed  at  Yale 
remained  with  him  throughout  life,  and  resulted  in  the  foundation 
of  an  important  university,  and  in  the  rendering  of  personal  help  to 
many  young  men  of  small  means  and  large  promise,  who  were  seeking 
an  education.  He  never  married.  His  public  services  were  honorable 
and  conspicuous.  No  one  doubted  his  patriotism  or  the  purity  of  his 
character.     There  is  no  exaggeration  in  the  tribute  of  Joel  Barlow, 

11  Farrand,  Framing  of  the  Constitution,  p.  26. 

12  For  a  most  interesting  contemporary  account  of  the  achievements  of  the  Constitutional 
Convention  as  derived  from  Baldwin,  see  Stiles,  Diary,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  293,  294, 

13  Fiske,  Critical  Period  of  American  History,  Vol.  II,  p.  270, 

[186] 


STATESMEN— ABRAHAM  BALDWIN 

his  brother-in-law,  who  had  known  him  from  the  days  when  the  poet 
was  a  tutor  and  Baldwin  a  student.  The  former  said:  "the  annals  of 
our  country  have  rarely  been  adorned  with  a  character  more  venerable, 
or  a  life  more  useful  than  that  of  Abraham  Baldwin.'"* 

Baldwin  County,  Georgia,  was  named  after  him,  but  his  principal 
monument  is  the  university  which  he  founded.  A  good  sketch  of 
his  life  is  that  given  in  Volume  IV  of  the  National  Portrait  Gallery 
of  Distinguished  Americans,  published  in  1839.  Much  of  his 
unpublished  correspondence  is  in  New  Haven,  the  property  of  the 
family  of  Professor  Weir. 


New  York  5*^  June  1788 
Dear  Sir 

I  wrote  you  a  few  weeks  since  respecting  my  quaker  suit  with 
Middleton  &c. 

Since  then,  I  find  Sykes  is  returned  to  Philadelphia.  He  was  only  agent 
in  the  business,  the  real  owner  of  the  goods  was  Samuel  Pleasants  of  Phila- 
delphia. I  have  just  got  a  letter  from  him  to  know  whether  the  suit  is  renewed, 
or  what  has  been  done  in  the  business,  or  what  I  thought  ought  to  be  done. 

1  wrote  him  to  furnish  you  with  letters  of  administration  by  October  court, 
and  that  all  the  rest  you  would  do.  If  he  could  get  good  security  for  his 
money  to  be  paid  in  two  or  three  years,  he  would  agree  to  it,  in  preference  to 
renewing  the  suit  in  the  present  state  of  the  country.  Do  write  him  a  line 
immediately  what  you  think  about  it,  give  it  to  any  body  going  to  Chasleton 
or  Savannah  with  direction  to  them  to  see  it  put  aboard  of  either  of  the  packets, 
it  will  reach  him  soon  and  safely. 

I  hear,  friend  Jones,  you  have  started  some  new  game,  as  it  is  a  fresh 
scent  I  should  suppose  the  pursuit  must  be  brisk,  particularly  to  an  old 
sportsman. 

We  have  just  got  the  good  news  from  South  Carolina.  Virginia  is  now  in 
session,  we  feel  very  doubtful  about  them.  This  state  meets  17*^  inst, 
their  members  are  chosen,  and  are  said  by  good  judges  to  be  antifcderal  nearly 

2  to  1.  This  city  is  almost  all  federal,  the  governor,  who  is  their  champion 
of  opposition,  had  but  134  votes  here.  New  Hampshire  meets  again  on  the 
same  day,  but  they  acted  so  ill  before,  I  dare  not  hope  much  good  from  them. 

1*  Jones,  Biographical  Sketches  of  the  Delegates  from  Georgia  to  the  Continental  Congress, 
p.  5. 

[187] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Where  we  are  to  go  for  the  ninth  [to]   sit  all  the  mighty  wheels  in  motion, 
time  must  determine.     I  fear  it  will  be  delayed  too  long. 

We  have  presented  our  act  of  cession,  and  tendered  an  execution  of  our 
powers.     The  subject  is  committed  they  seem  not  to  know  what  to  make  of  it. 
With  respect  and  esteem  I  am,  Dear  Sir, 

Your  obedient  humble  servant 

Abe  Baldwin 
Seaborn  Jones,  Esq^ 

This  is  a  contemporary  document  regarding  one  of  the  critical 
periods  in  American  history,  and  it  dates  from  the  most  critical 
month.  The  Constitutional  Convention,  of  which  Baldwin  had  been 
a  member,  had  adjourned  in  September,  1787,  after  providing  that 
the  new  form  of  government  should  go  into  existence  if  ratified  by 
nine  states.  Eight  states  had  given  their  formal  consent  when  Baldwin 
wrote  this  letter.  In  the  order  of  their  approval  they  were :  Delaware, 
Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Georgia,  Connecticut,  Massachusetts, 
Maryland,  and  South  Carolina.  The  question  now  was  where  the 
ninth  vote  would  come  from,  as  in  the  remaining  states  the  anti- 
federalist  party  was  everywhere  active.  The  important  state  of 
Virginia,  which  then  carried  more  political  weight  than  any  other 
commonwealth,  was  carried  for  the  Constitution,  June  25,  by  a  very 
narrow  majority,  while  her  action  was  preceded  by  four  days  by 
that  of  New  Hampshire,  which  also  went  Federahst.  Baldwin  was 
right  in  thinking  at  the  time  of  writing  that  the  outlook  in  New  York 
was  doubtful.  Governor  Clinton  strongly  opposed  the  basis  of  union, 
but  Hamilton  was  a  mighty  influence  in  its  favor,  and  the  strong 
common  sense  of  the  people  prevailed.  The  state  convention  voted 
"Yes"  late  in  July. 


[188] 


STATESMEN— OLIVER  WOLCOTT 

Oliver  Wolcott 
Class  of  1778 

Born,  January  11,  1760;  Died,  June  1,  1833 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  under  Washington 

The  only  Yale  graduate  who  had  the  honor  of  belonging  to 
Washington's  Cabinet  was  Oliver  Wolcott,  who  was  its  last  survivor. 
He  was  born  in  Litchfield,  Connecticut,  of  the  patrician  stock  of  old 
New  England.  His  father  was  Governor  Oliver  Wolcott  (q.v.), 
one  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

He  was  privately  prepared  for  college  by  a  Yale  graduate 
(Nathaniel  Beckwith,  B.A.  1766),  and  was  ready  for  admission  when 
thirteen.  The  account  has  been  preserved  of  his  trip  to  New  Haven. 
He  was  well  mounted  and  given  a  letter  of  introduction  to  the 
ministers  on  the  road.    The  first  stop  was  at  Watertown: 

I  found  Parson  Trumbull  [B.A.  1735]  in  the  field  Superintending  laborers. 
He  received  me  well,  ordered  my  horse  to  be  taken  care  of,  and  invited  me  to  a 
farmer's  dinner.  He  looked  kindly  at  me,  and  placing  his  hand  on  my  head  said, 
I  was  one  of  the  old  stock  of  Independents.  I  did  not  then  understand  his  meaning, 
but  as  it  was  said  to  be  a  family  characteristic,  I  recollected  it  ever  after.  I  was 
dismissed  in  season  to  get  down  to  parson  Leavenworth's,  at  Waterbury,  before 
sunset.  Here  I  found  another  agricultural  clergyman,  who  lived  well  in  a  good 
house,  but  in  a  poor  parish,  where  the  lands  did  not  enable  his  parishioners  to  afford 
a  support  equal  to  that  received  by  parson  Trumbull.  On  asking  ray  name,  placing 
his  hands  on  my  head,  he  enquired  whether  I  intended,  if  I  was  able,  to  be  like  old 
Noll,  a  republican  and  a  King  Killer.''  These  words  were  new  phrases  to  my  ears, 
but  I  treasured  them  in  my  memory.^ 

As  Trumbull  was  a  member  of  the  Yale  Corporation,  and  as 
Rev.  Mr.  Leavenworth  was  a  graduate  in  the  Class  of  1737,  INIaster 
Oliver  had  plenty  of  opportunity  to  get  good  advice  regarding  his 
college  course.  He  spent  a  week  in  New  Haven  passing  the  necessary 
examinations,  but  decided  to  postpone  the  beginning  of  his  college 
course  for  another  year : 

1  Gibbs,  Memoirs   of   the  Administrations   of   Washington   and  John  Adams  ....  1846, 
Vol.  I,  pp.  10,  11. 

[  189  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

I  went  up  to  college  in  the  evening  to  observe  the  scene  of  my  future  exploits 
with  emotions  of  awe  and  reverence.  Men  in  black  robes,  white  wigs  and  high 
cocked  hats,  young  men  dressed  in  camblet  gowns,  passed  us  in  small  groups.  The 
men  in  robes  and  wigs  I  was  told  were  professors;  the  young  men  in  gowns  were 
students.  There  were  young  men  in  black  silk  gowns,  some  with  bands  and  others 
without.  These  were  either  tutors  in  the  college  or  resident  graduates  to  whom 
the  title  of  "Sir"  was  accorded.  When  we  entered  the  college  yard  a  new  scene  was 
presented.  There  was  a  class  who  wore  no  gowns  and  who  walked  but  never  ran  or 
jumped  in  the  yard.  They  appeared  much  in  awe  or  looked  surlily  after  they 
passed  by  the  young  men  habited  in  gowns  and  staves.  Some  of  the  young  gowns- 
men treated  those  who  wore  neither  hats  or  gowns  in  the  yard  with  harshness  and 
what  I  thought  indignity.  I  give  an  instance:  "Nevill,  go  to  my  room,  middle 
story  of  old  college.  No.  — ,  and  take  from  it  a  pitcher,  fill  it  from  the  pump,  place 
it  in  my  room  and  stay  there  till  my  return."  The  domineering  young  men  I  was 
told  were  scholars  or  students  of  the  sophomore  class,  and  those  without  hats  and 
gowns  and  who  walked  in  the  yard  were  freshmen,  who  out  of  the  hours  of  study 
were  waiters  or  servants  to  the  authority,  the  president,  professors,  tutors  and 
undergraduates.^ 

During  his  last  two  years  in  college,  the  difficulty  of  securing 
food  supplies  was  acute.  The  Steward  was  finally  obliged,  in 
September,  1778,  to  advertise  in  the  public  prints,  requesting  "the 
Parents  and  Guardians  of  the  Students  to  assist  in  furnishing  a  supply 
of  Provisions."^  But  these  did  not  constitute  the  only  scarcity.  In 
the  fall  of  Junior  year  the  Corporation  "Voted,  that  in  consideration 
of  the  scarcity  of  Rooms  in  College,  four  students  shall  live  in  each 
room.'"  Undergraduates  were  less  particular  then  than  they  are 
today. 

Among  the  unusually  large  number  of  Wolcott's  distinguished 
classmates  was  Noah  Webster  ( q.v. ) .  The  latter's  impressions  of  his 
friend  are  interesting: 

I  was  an  intimate  friend,  class-mate,  and  for  some  months  room-mate  with 
Gov.  Wolcott.  My  acquaintance  with  him  was  of  nearly  sixty  years  duration.  I 
found  him  always  frank  and  faithful  in  his  friendship,  and  generous  to  the  extent 
of  his  means.  He  was  in  college  a  good  scholar,  though  not  brilliant.  He  possessed 
the  firmness  and  strong  reasoning  powers  of  the  Wolcott  family,  but  with  some 
eccentricities  in  reasoning.® 

2  Quoted  from  Johnston,  Nathan  Hale,  p.  25.    Original  in  Wolcott  Memorial,  p.  225. 

3  Johnston,  Yale  in  the  American  Revolution,  p.  93. 
*  MS.  Records  Yale  Corporation,  October  23,  1776. 

5  Gibbs,  Memoirs,  Vol.  I,  p.  11. 

[  190  ] 


STATESMEN— OLIVER  WOLCOTT 

He  may  not  have  been  brilliant,  but  he  was  the  "head  scholar"  of  his 
class,  holding  this  position  for  every  year  of  the  college  course/ 
His  patriotism  also  had  several  opportunities  to  show  itself  during  his 
student  days.  In  Junior  j^ear,  while  home  on  a  short  vacation,  he 
was  awakened  at  midnight  by  a  summons  to  join  the  militia  in  an 
attempt  to  prevent  the  British  under  Tryon  from  destroying  the 
stores  of  the  patriots  at  Danbury.  His  father  was  attending  Congress 
at  the  time,  but  his  mother  got  ready  his  knapsack,  and  told  him  "to 
conduct  like  a  good  soldier."  This  injunction  was  obeyed,  and  the 
young  undergraduate  took  part  in  several  skirmishes.  The  events 
at  college  during  these  years  are  described  in  a  letter  of  a  student 
of  the  class  below  Wolcott.  It  was  written  more  than  fifty  years 
after  the  events  described,  so  its  accuracy  in  details  may  be  questioned, 
although  it  doubtless  fairly  reproduces  the  spirit  of  the  time: 

My  connection  with  college  was  in  1775.  In  days  that  "tried  men's  souls" — 
in  time  of  the  Revolution.  A  war  spirit  prevailed  in  all  the  old  13 — Patriotism, 
warmed  the  hearts  of  the  free  born  sons  of  Yale.  Fired  with  the  news  of  the  death 
of  their  countrymen  at  Lexington,  100  of  her  sons  marshaled  for  fight,  rush  to 
Boston  and  I  see  an  old  gentleman  point  his  cane  and  hear  him  say :  "What  do  you 
think  Gage  will  say  when  he  knows  that  a  hundred  men  from  Yale  College  are  come 
to  fight  him?" 

The  upper  classes  in  the  interval  of  studies,  are  on  the  lower  Green  with  their 
music  practicing,  marching,  maneuvering. 

Soon  after  my  acquaintance  with  alma  mater.  Col.  Ira  Allen  from  Vermont, 
brought  the  good  news  of  the  capture  of  the  Fort  of  St.  John's — a  thrill  of  joy 
pervades  the  city  and  the  college.  Cannon  are  ordered  out,  13  thunders,  one  for 
each  state,  tell  the  heartfelt  joy.  At  the  last  fire,  the  Col.,  soldier-like,  leaped  on 
the  cannon — swung  his  hat  and  cried  aloud  "God  save  the  Continental  Congress !" 
Three  cheers  !    Oh  they  were  given  to  the  life  !^ 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  that  student  life  at  Yale  was  much 
disturbed  during  Wolcott's  course.  Conditions  had  become  so  bad 
that  the  following  vote  was  passed  by  the  Corporation  towards  the 
close  of  his  Junior  year: 

Whereas  the  Difficulties  of  subsisting  the  Students  in  this  Town  are  so  great, — 
the    Price   of    Provisions   and   Board   so   high, — and   the   Avocations    from   Study, 

6  Stiles,  Diary,  Vol.  II,  p.  516. 

7  J.  Maltby  (B.A.  1779).    Quoted  in  Yale  Alumm  Weekly,  January  5,  1912. 

[  191  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

occasioned  by  the  State  of  Public  Affairs  so  many; — Difficulties  which  still  increase 
and  render  it  very  inconvenient  for  the  Students  to  reside  here  at  Present;  and  yet 
considering  the  great  Importance;  that  they  be  under  the  best  Advantages  of 
Instruction  and  Learning,  Circumstances  will  permit: — Voted  that  in  the  Opinion 
of  this  Board,  it  is  necessary  to  provide  some  other  convenient  Place  or  Places, 
where  the  classes  may  reside  under  their  respective  Tutors ;  until  God  in  his  kind 
Providence  shall  open  a  Door  for  their  Return  to  this  fixed  and  ancient  Seat  of 
Learning;  and  that  Messrs.  Taylor  and  Goodrich  be  a  Committee  for  that  Purpose, 
and  make  Report  to  the  next  Meeting  of  this  Board. ^ 

He  always  retained  a  friendly  interest  in  his  Alma  Mater.  In 
1807  he  made  a  gift  of  two  thousand  dollars,  which  still  constitutes 
a  special  fund  in  the  Library,  while  in  a  letter  written  to  President 
Dwight,  forty  years  after  graduation,  he  referred  to  Yale  as  "an 
Institution  of  the  highest  importance  to  Society.'"*  In  another  letter 
to  his  brother  Frederick  (B.A.  1786),  who  was  only  a  few  years  after 
him  in  college,  he  gives  the  young  Freshman  some  good  advice,  which 
throws  light  on  his  own  undergraduate  life  and  ideals : 

I  suppose  this  will  find  you  a  Freshman  with  your  Hat  under  your  Arm  under 
continual  Apprehensions  of  some  severe  Discipline  from  those  self-important  Gentry 
who  affect  to  stile  themselves  your  Superiors.  You  ought  however  to  remember 
that  this  Superiority  will  be  of  short  Duration  in  case  you  make  a  proper  Use  of 
the  Advantages  which  are  now  in  your  hands.  It  is  not  being  one  Year  before  you 
in  College  that  gives  any  person  an  Advantage  over  you,  but  it  is  the  improvement 
they  have  made  of  that  Year.  You  have  an  undoubted  right  to  despise  an  ignorant 
Fellow,  who  values  himself  upon  his  priviledge  of  wearing  a  Gown,  though  it  would 
be  improper  and  imprudent  to  express  any  Contempt  publickly;  and  as  you  have 
a  Right  to  entertain  this  Opinion  of  Others,  they  have  the  same  Right  to  think  of 
you  in  a  Way  much  to  your  Disadvantage  should  you  be  so  foolish  as  to  be  proud 

of   any   thing  but  your   Learning I   had   the    Reputation   of   being   a   good 

Scholar  while  I  was  in  College,  if  you  do  not  equal  or  excell  me  you  may  depend 
upon  it  that  people  will  make  a  Comparison  to  your  Disadvantage — a  thing  which 
I  hope  you  are  too  proud  to  suffer. 

As  for  those  Butterflies  you  will  see  every  Day  in  New  Haven  who  think  that 
they  are  the  best  people  because  they  wear  the  richest  Cloaths,  drink  the  most  Wine, 
and  do  the  most  Mischief,  you  may  depend  upon  it  that  they  will  in  ten  Years 
time — a  period  which  will  soon  arrive — be  the  most  despicable  part  of  the  Commu- 
nity. They  will  be  ignorant,  unhealthy  and  poor,  consequences  that  naturally 
follow  from  Inattention,  Profligacy,  and  Extravagance ^° 

8  MS.  Records  Yale  Corporation,  April  1,  1777. 

9  Wolcott  Memorial,  p.  298. 

10  Memorial  of  Henry  Wolcott,  pp.  319,  320. 

[192] 


STATESMEN— OLIVER  WOLCOTT 

After  leaving  college  he  studied  law  at  the  Litchfield  School, 
but  his  studies  were  interrupted  by  further  volunteer  service  as  an 
aid  to  his  father.  He  declined  an  opportunity  to  be  one  of  the  "young 
Gentlemen  of  Spirit  and  Learning""  whom  General  Parsons  sought 
as  ensigns  in  the  Continental  Army,  and  was  duly  admitted  to  the 
Bar  in  1781.  Shortly  afterwards  he  took  his  Master's  degree  at 
'New  Haven,  the  program  thus  announcing  his  part :  An  Agricultura 
in  Repuhlica  Americana  sit  magis  colenda  quam  Commercium. 
Affirmat  respondens  Olivcrus  Wolcott.^^  He  prepared  for  the  same 
occasion  an  English  Oration  on  the  Progress  of  Society,  but  President 
Stiles  tells  us  that  it  was  "omitted  for  want  of  time"^^ — a  rather 
humiliating  experience.  Declining  a  college  tutorship,  he  took  up 
his  residence  in  Hartford,  where  he  became  intimate  with  the  coterie 
known  as  the  "Hartford  Wits,"  and  cultivated  his  literary  tastes, 
especially  in  the  English  classics. 

Wolcott  began  early  his  training  for  his  difficult  work  as  head 
of  the  finances  of  the  country.  His  start  was  in  the  office  of  the 
Committee  of  the  Pay  Table.  He  then  became  a  commissioner  with 
Oliver  Ellsworth  to  settle  the  accounts  of  Connecticut  against  the 
United  States,  and  later,  as  the  first  Comptroller  of  Public  Accounts, 
he  was  charged  with  the  important  task  of  reorganizing  the  financial 
methods  of  the  state.  His  skill  as  a  financier  soon  attracted  outside 
attention.  Alexander  Hamilton  made  him  Auditor  of  the  Treasury 
Department  and,  when  a  vacancy  occurred,  advanced  him  to  the 
ComptroUership.  This  he  filled  with  distinction,  until  1795,  when, 
on  Hamilton's  resignation,  he  became  Secretarj^  of  the  Treasury. 
In  the  meantime  he  had  declined  the  presidency  of  the  United  States 
Bank  with  a  large  salary,  "preferring  the  public  service,  and  believing 
that  such  a  station  would  be  deemed  unsuitable  for  a  young  man 
without  property."^*     He  remained  in  the  Cabinet  through  Wash- 

11  Johnston,  Yale  in  the  American  Revolution,  p.  342. 

12  Wolcott  Memorial,  p.  229. 

13  Stiles,  Diary,  Vol.  II,  p.  555. 

14  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  IV,  p.  84. 

[  193  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

ington's  administration,  and  under  Adams,  until  he  resigned  in  1800, 
because  of  his  lack  of  sympathy  with  some  of  the  President's  views. 
His  conduct  of  the  office  was  most  creditable,  and  would  have 
attracted  more  attention  had  it  not  been  for  the  fact  that  he  was 
immediately  preceded  by  Hamilton,  and  almost  immediately  followed 
by  Gallatin,  two  men  of  the  highest  capacity. 

After  serving  for  a  year  as  United  States  Circuit  Judge,  he  held 
important  business  positions  in  New  York,  including  the  first  presi- 
dencies of  the  jNIerchant's  Bank  and  of  the  Bank  of  America.  Having 
returned  to  Litchfield  he  was  elected  Governor  of  the  state,  a  position 
held  by  his  father  and  grandfather  before  him,  and  was  continued  in 
the  office  for  the  ten  years  beginning  with  1817.  His  position  in 
Connecticut  at  this  time  is  shown  by  his  election  to  the  chairmanship 
of  the  State  Constitutional  Convention. 

Wolcott's  main  title  to  permanent  recognition  rests  upon  his 
substantial  contribution  to  the  proper  financial  administration  of  the 
new  government,  and  especially  to  his  services  as  head  of  the  Treasury 
Department  in  the  difficult  period  from  1795  to  1800.  Because  of 
this  work,  and  of  other  useful  public  activities,  his  Alma  Mater 
followed  Brown  and  Princeton  in  conferring  upon  him  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Laws.  A  portrait  of  him  by  Gilbert  Stuart  is  owned 
by  the  University.  His  gift  of  two  thousand  dollars  to  the  College 
Library,  in  1807,  was,  according  to  the  first  President  D wight,  the 
largest  single  benefaction  "in  modern  times"  !^^  Professor  Dexter 
quotes  the  following  tribute  from  the  New  York  American,  written 
immediately  after  his  death : 

The  character  of  Mr.  Wolcott  was  strongly  marked.  Stern,  inflexible,  and 
devoted  in  all  that  duty,  honor,  and  patriotism  enjoined,  he  was,  in  private  life  of 
the  utmost  gentleness,  kindness,  and  sincerity.  With  strong  original  powers,  early 
developed  by  the  stirring  events  of  the  Revolutionary  days  in  which  he  was  born, 
he  had  acquired  a  habit  of  self  reliance  which  little  fitted  him  for  that  sort  of 
political  cooperation  which  results  from  expediency  rather  than  riglit.     He  aimed  at 

isDwight,  Traveh  (1823  Edition),  Vol.  I,  p.  175. 

[194] 


STATESMEN— OLIVER  WOLCOTT 

the  right  always  and  at  all  events,  according  to  his  best  convictions;  and  if  any 
questioned  his  judgment,  none  could  impeach  his  honesty  and  sincerity.^® 

It  should  be  added  that  INIrs.  Wolcott  was  a  woman  of  rare  dignity 
and  charm.  It  is  reported  that  the  British  IVIinister  at  Washington 
noticing  her  at  an  entertainment  said  to  General  Tracy,  her  husband's 
classmate  at  Yale:  "Senator,  that  woman  would  be  admired  even 
at  the  Court  of  St.  James."  "Sir,"  he  answered,  "she  is  admired  even 
on  Litchfield  Hill!" 

The  most  important  record  of  Wolcott's  life  is  given  in  Memoirs 
of  the  Administrations  of  Washington  and  John  Adams,  edited  from 
the  papers  of  Oliver  Wolcott,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  by  George 
Gibbs,  two  volumes,  1845. 


Litchfield  March  25.  1825 
Dear  Sir. 

I  have  delayed  answering  your  Letter  of  Feb.y  23*^  longer  than  I  should 
have  done  had  I  not  expected  the  return  of  CoP.  Huntington  from  New  York. 
I  send  a  Letter  to  M^.  Gallatin  &  a  Certificate  which  may  be  of  use  to  M^. 
Fisher  if  he  should  happen  into  the  hands  of  strangers.  I  predict  however 
that  if  he  is  once  introduced  to  men  of  Science  in  Paris  no  further  introductions 
will  be  necessary.  I  will  thank  you  to  see  that  M'".  Fisher  signs  the  Certificate 
when  it  is  delivered  to  him.  If  he  does  not  leave  New  Haven  immediately  I 
should  be  glad  to  write  to  M'".  Greene  &  to  M^.  Daniel  Sheldon. 

Yrs  affecy 
President  Day.  Oliv.  Wolcott. 

This  letter  is  of  tragic  Yale  interest  as  the  "JNIr.  Fisher"  referred 
to  is  Professor  Alexander  Metcalf  Fisher  (q.v.),  the  brilliant  young 
scientist  who  was  shipwrecked  a  month  later.  Internal  evidence  and 
President  Day's  endorsement  on  the  back  show  conclusively  that 
Governor  Wolcott  should  have  dated  the  letter  INIarch  25,  1822, 
instead  of  1825.  "Mr.  Gallatin" — Albert  Gallatin — was  at  this  time 
American  INIinister  to  France,  and  consequently  in  a  position  to  be 
of  large  assistance  to  Professor  Fisher  in  making  the  acquaintance 
of  European  men  of  science. 

16  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  IV,  p.  86. 

[195] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

John  Caldwell  Calhoun 
Class  of  1804 

Born,  March  18,  1782;  Died,  March  31,  1850 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States 

Calhoun  influenced  the  political  history  of  the  United  States 
more  deeply  than  any  other  graduate  during  the  first  two  centuries 
of  the  College's  history,  so  that  all  that  can  be  ascertained  regarding 
his  education  is  of  importance. 

He  was  the  son  of  Hon.  Patrick  Calhoun,  and  was  born  in 
Abbeville  District,  South  Carolina.  His  father  died  when  he 
was  fourteen,  so  he  was  sent  to  the  Georgia  school  of  his  relative. 
Rev.  Dr.  Waddel,  and  from  there,  after  a  short  period  of  tutoring, 
he  entered  Yale  College  in  the  fall  of  Junior  year.  He  was  an 
excellent  scholar,  although  not  Valedictorian,  as  has  been  sometimes 
erroneously  stated.  He  had  large  powers  of  acquisition,  shown  by 
the  fact  that  he  received  his  Bachelor's  degree  four  years  from  the 
time  he  began  his  Latin  grammar.  He  was  only  two  years  at  the 
University,  but  the  time  was  sufficient  to  serve  as  a  most  important 
factor  in  his  own  education.  Indirectly  his  connection  with  it  helped 
to  broaden  the  influence  of  Y^ale  which,  for  the  first  half  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  and  partly  because  of  Calhoun,  became  the  favorite 
Northern  university  for  Southern  students.'  In  the  Class  of  1820 
they  formed  twenty  per  cent  of  the  total,  and  in  that  of  1831  twenty- 
nine  per  cent,  the  highest  proportion  ever  reached.^  This  growing 
popularity  of  Y^ale  with  the  South  was  particularly  true  of  his  native 
state.  As  early  as  1788,  Jedidiah  Morse  (q.v.)  reported  that  in 
Charleston,  and  in  other  places  in  the  Southeast,  "they  call  Yale 
College  the  Athens  of  America."    During  much  of  the  quarter  century 

1  The  line  of  regular  packets  from  New  Haven  to  Charleston,  and  the  national  reputation 
of  President  Dwight,  were  other  factors. 
*  Yale  Literary  Magazine,  Vol.  17,  p.  31. 

[  196  ] 


STATESMEN— JOHN  CALDWELL  CALHOUN 

after  Calhoun's  graduation,  New  York,  New  Haven,  and  Hartford, 
were  the  only  cities  whose  student  representation  at  Yale  exceeded 
that  of  Charleston,  while  in  1819  the  Southern  sentiment  at  the  College 
had  become  so  strong  that  according  to  a  contemporary  statement: 
"On  the  third  of  July  this  year  happened  the  noted  scrape  which  in 
the  issue  divided  the  Linonian  Society  and  indirectly  caused  so  much 
difficulty  to  ours  [Brothers  in  Unity].  On  the  Linonian  election 
evening,  the  Southern  party  took  their  leave  of  the  Society  and  formed 
a  new  one  known  by  the  name  of  the  Calliopean."^  Rumblings  of 
this  impending  storm  were  heard  in  his  undergraduate  days.  He  was 
originally  allotted  to  Linonia,  and  his  signature  on  its  membership 
book  may  still  be  seen.  He  signed  it  when  he  entered  college,  but 
apparently  took  little  part  in  the  society's  doings,  as  he  frankly 
preferred  Brothers,  which  was  then  in  favor  among  Southerners. 
As  a  result  both  societies  claimed  him  for  almost  half  a  century  after- 
wards.* The  following  brief  record,  mainly  significant  for  what  is 
left  unsaid,  tells  the  sad  ofiScial  story  of  how,  in  1840,  Linonia  finally 
learned  beyond  doubt  that  Calhoun  did  not  pay  her  allegiance.  In 
response  to  a  specific  request  for  an  authoritative  statement,  a  letter 
was  read  "from  the  Hon.  Wm.  L.  Storrs  [then  in  Congress]  giving 
definite  information  on  that  momentous  and  long  agitated  question, 
whether  John  C.  Calhoun  had  been  a  member  of  this  or  the  Brothers 
Soc.  during  the  time  of  his  connection  with  Yale  College."^  In  the 
manuscript  records  of  the  Brothers  in  Unity,  a  copy  of  this  letter  is 
preserved,  which  had  been  provided  on  request.  It  contains  the 
following  statement: 

Mr.  Calhoun  has  since  stated  to  me  verbally  &  authorizes  me  to  communicate 
the  information  to  you,  that,  during  the  time  he  was  a  member  of  Yale  College,  he 
was  not  a  member  of  either  of  the  Literary  Societies  there.  Previous  to  his  entering 
college  the  mode  of  designating  the  members  of  those  societies  by  lot  was  adopted, 
by  which  he  was  appointed  to  the  Linonia  Society.  Most  of  his  political  &  personal 
friends  (who  were  from  the  South)   being  members  of  the  Society  of  Brothers  in 

s  Yale  Review  for  1912,  p.  241. 

*  See  account,  slightly  inaccurate,  in  Bagg,  Four  Tears  at  Yale,  p.  193. 

e  MS.  Records  of  Linonia  for  June  24,  1840. 

[  197  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Unity  he  preferred  to  belong  to  that  society;  but  the  rules,  then  prevailing,  not 
allowing  this,  he  attached  himself  to  neither  of  the  Societies.® 

On  the  other  hand,  a  letter  from  Dr.  Alexander  H.  Stevens  (q.v.), 

the  original  of  which  is  in  a  private  collection  in  New  Haven,  shows 

that  he  thought  in  later  life  that  he  remembered  an  address  from 

Calhoun  in  Linonia  in  the  fall  of  1803.    The  letter  follows : 

I  entered  the  freshman  class  in  1803 — (if  I  remember  right  the  class  was 
arranged  alphabetically  &  each  alternate  member  was  assigned  to  one  or  the  other 
society.)  My  elder  Brother  Samuel  Stevens  was  then  a  member  of  the  Junior 
class  &  of  the  Brothers  Society — (so  that  but  for  this  arrangement  I  should  not 
have  had  the  good  fortune  to  become  a  Linonian — a  circumstance  which  [has]  given 
me  many  pleasant  hours  &  I  hope  much  improvement.  No  incident  in  college 
recollections  is  more  vividly  impressed  on  my  mind  than  that  which  occurred  at 
the  first  meeting  when  we  signed  the  Constitution  &  heard  an  address  directed 
especially  to  us  who  had  just  joined  the  society  by  Jno  C.  Calhoun  who  presided 
at  the  meeting  &  was  I  believe  President  of  the  Society.  He  called  upon  us  to 
improve  the  precious  time  of  our  college  life  &  pointed  out  the  glorious  rewards 
of  industry — "By  study  &  labour  we  might  ascend  the  Pisgah  [of]  Science  &  enjoy 
a  full  vision  of  the  promised  land."     Our  young  hearts  thrilled  with  his  eloquence. 

But  this  is  not  all.  The  society  of  Brothers  in  Unity  officially  claimed 
Calhoun.  Its  members  acknowledged  that  he  never  signed  their 
constitution,  but  they  maintained  that  they  "had  from  himself  assur- 
ances of  his  undiminished  attachment  to  us.""  So  much  for  the 
conflicting  evidence.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  reconcile  these  various 
statements,  but  certain  facts  seem  to  be  indicated.  Calhoun  did  join 
Linonia,  and  he  did  not  join  Brothers,  although  his  friends  were 
mostly  in  the  latter.  If  he  spoke  at  the  initiation  of  Linonia  in  the 
fall  of  his  Senior  year,  as  seems  probable,  his  attendance  at  the  meeting 
was  not  in  accordance  with  his  regular  custom,  for  he  was  not  inti- 
mately identified  with  the  life  of  the  society.  The  matter  has  been 
discussed  in  some  detail,  because  it  was  a  cause  celebre  in  college  for 
many  student  generations,  and  no  adequate  statement  has  heretofore 
appeared  in  print. 

Fortunately  there  is  no  uncertainty  as  to  his  connection  with 

8  MS.  Records  of  Brothers  in  Unity,  July  15,  1840.     The  letter  from  Mr.  Storrs  is  dated 
June  15,  1840. 

7  Catalogue  of  the  Brothers  in  Unity,  1841,  preface. 

[198] 


STATESMEN— JOHN  CALDWELL  CALHOUN 

Phi  Beta  Kappa.  He  served  on  several  of  its  committees,  including 
one  to  devise  a  plan  for  raising  a  fund  to  assist  "indigent  Brethren 
residing  at  the  University.'"  The  subjects  which  he  debated  at  its 
meetings  have  a  special  interest  for  us.  These  included  "Is  govern- 
ment founded  on  the  social  compact?"  decided  in  the  negative,  and 
"Is  Language  of  Divine  Origin?"  decided  in  the  affirmative.  He 
doubtless  took  part  in  many  of  the  other  debates,  but  these  were  his 
formal  assignments. 

President  Dwight  was  the  dominant  influence  in  the  College  in 
Calhoun's  undergraduate  days.  He  w^as  a  strong  Federalist,  while 
his  pupil  was  an  ardent  j'^oung  Republican.  There  was  ample  oppor- 
tunity in  recitations  and  debates  for  conflict  of  opinion,  especially 
on  the  fundamental  question  of  the  origin  of  political  power  in  a 
democracy.  A  resulting  incident,  often  quoted,  is  thus  recorded  by 
one  of  Calhoun's  biographers : 

In  a  recitation  during  the  senior  year,  on  the  chapter  on  Politics  in  Paley's 
Moral  Philosophy,  the  doctor,  with  the  intention  of  eliciting  his  opinion,  propounded 
to  Mr.  Calhoun  the  question,  as  to  the  legitimate  source  of  power.  He  did  not 
decline  an  open  and  direct  avowal  of  his  opinion.  A  discussion  ensued  between 
them  which  exhausted  the  time  allotted  for  the  recitation,  and  in  which  the  pupil 
maintained  his  opinions  with  such  vigor  of  argument  and  success,  as  to  elicit  from 
his  distinguished  teacher  the  declaration,  in  speaking  of  him  to  a  friend,  that  the 
young  man  had  talent  enough  to  be  President  of  the  United  States,  which  he 
accompanied  by  a  prediction  that  he  would  one  day  attain  that  station.® 

A  reminiscence  of  this  prediction  is  preserved  in  an  old  political  song, 
sung  in  the  forties,  and  still  remembered  by  Yale  men  in  New  Haven. 
It  ran  about  like  this : 

John  C.  Calhoun  my  Jo,  John ! 
When  first  we  were  acquaint 
You  were  my  chum  at  Yale,  John, 

And  something  of  a  Saint — 
And  Doctor  Dwight,  God  bless  him  John ! 

Predicted  as  you  know 
You'd  be  the  Nation's  President, 
John  C.  Calhoun,  My  Jo  l'" 

8  MS.  Records  Phi  Beta  Kappa  for  July  11,  1803. 

9  Jenkins,  Life  of  Calhoun,  p.  30. 

10  Communicated  to  the  author  by  Henry  T.  Blake  (B.A.  1848).    Compare  the  old  ballad, 
"John  Anderson  my  Jo,  John." 

[  199  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

At  Commencement  he  was  given  an  English  Oration.  The 
subject  chosen  was  suggestive  both  of  his  interest  at  the  time  and 
of  the  ideal  which  dominated  his  future  career — "the  Qualifications 
necessary  to  form  a  Statesman."  Unfortunately  illness  prevented  his 
delivering  his  piece.  One  of  his  Yale  teachers,  Professor  Silliman, 
who  kept  in  touch  with  him  after  graduation,  records  that  as  an  under- 
graduate "He  was  a  first-rate  young  man,  both  for  scholarship  and 
talent,  and  for  pure  and  gentlemanly  conduct."" 

Evidence  of  Calhoun's  interest  in  his  Alma  Mater  is  preserved 
in  a  letter  written  in  1818,  accompanying  his  subscription  to  the 
American  Journal  of  Science.  Here  is  the  last  clause:  "You  do  me 
justice  in  supposing  that  I  still  retain  an  affection  for  the  institution 
with  which  you  are  connected.  I  have  every  reason  to  feel  the 
strongest  gratitude  to  Yale  College,  and  shall  always  rejoice  in  her 
prosperity."'"  Several  years  later  (1825)  he  contributed  one  hundred 
dollars  towards  the  purchase  of  the  Gibbs'  Cabinet  of  Minerals — the 
nucleus  about  which  the  Peabody  Museum  was  built  up.  He  again 
wrote  to  Professor  Silliman  a  letter  showing  much  college  loyalty : 

You  do  not  mistake  my  feelings  in  supposing  that  I  take  deep  interest  in  the 
prosperity  of  Yale  College.  Besides  the  feelings  with  which  I  regard  it  as  one 
of  her  sons,  (I  trust  not  less  strong  than  they  ought  to  be,)  I  consider  it  one  of  the 
lights  of  the  nation,  which  under  Providence,  has  mainly  contributed  to  guide  this 
people  in  the  path  of  political,  moral,  and  religious  duties.^^ 

After  graduation  he  returned  home  to  read  law,  but  the  following 
year  found  him  back  in  Connecticut  at  the  remarkable  Law  School'* 
at  Litchfield,  conducted  by  Judge  Reeve  and  James  Gould  (q.v.). 
Having  completed  eighteen  months  of  professional  study,  he  went 
back  to  his  native  state,  and  was  admitted  to  the  Bar.  He  was  almost 
immediately  elected  to  the  legislature,  where  his  abilities  were  so 
marked  that,  in  1810,  he  secured  an  election  to  Congress.  For  the 
next  forty  years  Washington  was  his  headquarters,  and  the  nation 

11  Fisher,  Life  of  Benjamin  Silliman,  Vol.  II,  p.  98. 

12  Ibid.,  Vol.  I,  p.  288. 

13  Ibid.,  Vol.  I,  p.  325. 

1*  See  under  James  Gould. 

[200] 


John  Caldwf.m.  Calhoun 

Class  of    ISOl- 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

At  Commencement  he  was  given  an  English  Oration.  The 
subject  chosen  was  suggestive  both  of  his  interest  at  the  time  and 
of  the  ideal  which  dominated  his  future  career — "the  Qualifications 
necessary  to  form  a  Statesman."  Unfortunately  illness  prevented  his 
delivering  his  piece.  One  of  his  Yale  teachers,  Professor  Silliman, 
who  kept  in  touch  with  him  after  graduation,  records  that  as  an  under- 
graduate "He  was  a  first-rate  young  man,  both  for  scholarship  and 
talent,  and  for  pure  and  gentlemanly  conduct."^^ 

Evidence  of  Calhoun's  interest  in  his  Alma  Mater  is  preserved 
in  a  letter  written  in  1818,  accompanying  his  subscription  to  the 
American  Journal  of  Science.  Here  is  the  last  clause:  "You  do  me 
justice  in  supposing  that  I  still  retain  an  affection  for  the  institution 
with  which  you  are  connected.  I  have  every  reason  to  feel  the 
strongest  gratitude  to  Yale  College,  and  shall  always  rejoice  in  her 
prosperity."^"  Several  years  later  (1825)  he  contributed  one  hundred 
dollars  towards  the  purchase  of  the  Gibbs'  Cabinet  of  Minerals — the 
nucleus  about  which  the  Peabody  Museum  was  built  up.  He  again 
wrote  to  Professor  Silliman  a  letter  showing  much  college  loyalty: 

You  do  not  mistake  my  fcelitij^s  in  supposing  that  I  take  deep  interest  in  the 
prosperity  of  Yale  College.  Besides  the  feelinsrs  with  which  I  regard  it  as  one 
of  her  sons,  (I  trust  not  less  strong  than  they  ought  to  be,)  I  consider  it  one  of  the 
lights  of  the  nation,  which  under  Providence,  has  mainly  contributed  to  guide  this 
people  in  the  path  of  political,  moral,  and  religious  duties. ^^ 

After  graduation  he  returned  home  to  read  law,  but  the  following 
year  found  him  back  in  Connecticut  at  the  remarkable  Law  SchooP* 
at  Litchfield,  conducted  by  Judge  Reeve  and  James  Gould  (q.v.). 
Having  completed  eighteen  months  of  professional  study,  he  went 
back  to  his  native  state,  and  was  admitted  to  the  Bar.  He  was  almost 
inmiediately  elected  to  the  legislature,  where  his  abilities  were  so 
marked  that,  in  1810,  he  secured  an  election  to  Congress.  For  the 
next  forty  j'^ears  Washington  was  his  headquarters,  and  the  nation 

■  •  '  hfr.  Life  of  Benjamin  Silliman,  Vol.  II,  p.  98. 

.        voi.\'.p.S.    ^^tjohjaO  jjavrnjAO  zhoL 

1*  See  undrr  James  Gould. 

4-0 HI     iO    g2Aj3 

[200] 


STATESMEN— JOHN  CALDWELL  CALHOUN 

his  sphere  of  action,  but  being  a  true  Southerner,  the  state  of  South 
Carohna  always  held  a  specially  large  place  in  his  heart.  He  continued 
in  the  House  for  seven  years.  He  was  then  appointed  Secretary  of 
War  by  President  Monroe,  and  remained  in  that  position  until  1825, 
when  he  became  Vice-President  of  the  United  States.  He  presided 
over  the  Senate  from  1825  until  1832,  when  he  resigned  to  become 
a  Senator  from  South  Carolina,  a  post  which  he  held  until  his  death, 
except  for  two  breaks  of  one  year  each  when  he  resigned,  the  first  time 
in  anticipation  of  his  nomination  for  the  presidency,  the  second  time 
to  serve  as  Secretary  of  State  in  President  Tjder's  Cabinet.'^  Such 
was  the  external  frame  into  which  must  be  fitted  the  real  life  work 
of  this  extraordinary  man.  His  influence  on  South  Carohna  in 
connection  with  the  nullification  proceedings,  and  the  effect  of  his 
political  doctrines  on  the  foundation  of  the  Southern  Confederacy 
"have  made  his  career  historic,  bej'^ond  perhaps  that  of  any  other  Yale 
graduate  of  his  century."^^ 

In  each  of  the  posts  which  he  held,  Calhoun's  political  genius — 
for  it  was  nothing  short  of  this — created  a  deep  impression.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Foreign  Affairs  Committee  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, and  his  reports  were  among  the  decisive  factors  leading 
to  hostilities  with  England,  as  his  later  speeches  were  among  the 
most  telling  forces  in  supporting  the  country's  military  arms  in  this 
War  of  1812.  Later,  as  Secretary  of  War,  he  showed,  according  to 
Mr.  Clay,  "transcendent  talents."  He  reorganized  the  Department 
in  the  interest  both  of  greater  efficiency  and  economy,  drawing  up 
the  bill  which  passed  Congress,  and  which  laid  down  certain  new 
principles  of  administration  continued  to  this  day.  His  system  was 
so  admirably  put  into  force  that  the  expense  per  man  in  the  army 
was  reduced  more  than  one-third,  without  loss  of  comfort  or  of 
ability.  As  Secretary  of  State  he  did  much  to  pave  the  way  for  the 
incorporation  in  the  Union  of  the  great  territories  in  the  Northwest 

15  He  also  twice  declined  the  appointment  of  Minister  to  England,  from  Adams,  in  1819, 
and  from  Polk,  in  1845. 

18  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  V,  p.  635. 


[201] 


\ 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

and  Southwest,  which  ultimately  became  the  states  of  Oregon 
and  Texas.  But  important  as  these  public  services  were,  they  were 
not  the  main  work  of  his  life.  It  was  decreed  that  his  greatest  efforts 
at  statesmanship  should  be  worked  out  in  the  Senate  Chamber. 
During  his  long  term  as  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate,  he  had  time 
for  a  profound  study  of  political  problems.  One  result  was  his 
pubhcation,  in  1828,  of  his  Exposition  and  Protest.  This  paper,  with 
slight  modifications,  was  promulgated  by  the  legislature  of  South 
Carolina,  which  believed  with  its  author  that  the  tariff,  as  just  revised 
in  the  interest  of  "protection,"  would  be  disastrous  to  his  native  state. 
It  involved  and  asserted  the  right  of  a  state  to  veto  a  Federal  law, 
and  is  one  of  the  important  documents  in  the  history  of  the  contro- 
versy which  prepared  the  way  for  the  South  Carolina  Nullification 
Ordinance  of  1832.  Another  result  was  his  study  and  mastery  of 
what  he  believed  to  be  the  weaknesses  of  Henry  Clay's  "American 
System" — with  its  protective  tariff,  national  bank,  "general  welfare" 
emphasis  in  constitutional  interpretation,  and  federal  activity  in 
internal  improvements.  In  opposition  to  these  policies  he  and 
Jackson  were  the  Democratic  leaders,  although  they  became 
alienated  through  an  unfortunate  quarrel.  It  was  his  masterly 
championing  of  the  extreme  state-rights  doctrine  which  led  to  the 
great  debate  with  Webster  on  Calhoun's  resolution: 

That  the  people  of  the  several  states  comprising  these  United  States  are  united 
as  parties  to  a  constitutional  compact,  to  which  the  people  of  each  state  acceded, 
as  a  separate  and  sovereign  community  each  binding  itself  by  its  own  particular 
ratification;  and  that  the  union,  of  which  the  said  compact  is  the  bond,  is  a  union 
between  the  states  ratifying  the  same.^^ 

It  was  against  these  resolutions  that  Webster  hurled  his  eloquent  and 
resistless  logic,  denying  both  Calhoun's  "compact"  premises  and  his 
"nullification"  conclusions.  Unquestionably  the  latter's  speeches  and 
addresses,  even  though  in  support  of  what  is  now  considered  to  have 
been  an  erroneous  doctrine,  did  much  to  clarilY  the  issue.  Fortunately 
there  were  other  more  abiding  political  principles  for  which  he  fought. 

17  Appleton,  American  Biography,  Vol.  I,  p.  500. 

[202] 


STATESMEN— JOHN  CALDWELL  CALHOUN 

In  August,  1842,  he  closed  a  forceful  speech  in  favor  of  Democratic 
theories  with  these  words:  "The  great  popular  partj'^  is  already- 
rallied  almost  en  Jiiasse  around  the  banner  which  is  leading  the  party 

to  its  final  triumph On  that  banner  is  inscribed :    Free  trade ; 

low  duties;  no  debt;  separation  from  banks;  economy;  retrenchment, 

and  strict  adherence  to  the  constitution "^^     These,  together 

with  state  sovereignty  and  the  guarding  of  minority  rights,  were  the 
main  political  principles  for  which  he  battled.  Being  an  ardent 
Southerner  he  was  naturally  also  a  defender  of  slavery. 

By  the  common  consent  of  political  historians,  Calhoun,  Clay, 
and  Webster  were  the  three  outstanding  American  statesmen  of  their 
generation.  It  is  interesting  to  know  what  the  last  two — both  his 
political  opponents — thought  of  the  first.  They  united  in  paying 
the  highest  tribute  to  his  character,  his  integrity,  and  his  patriotism. 
Clay  said:  "He  possessed  an  elevated  genius  of  the  highest  order. 
In  felicity  of  generalization  of  the  subjects  of  which  his  mind  treated 
I  have  seen  him  surpassed  by  no  one."^^  Webster  called  him  "a  man 
of  undoubted  genius  and  of  commanding  talent.""°  His  speeches,  and 
his  two  works  on  political  philosophy,  A  Disquisition  on  Govern- 
ment, and  A  Discourse  on  the  Constitution  and  Government  of  the 
United  States,  fully  confirm  these  estimates.  For  sheer  intellectual 
force  and  unyielding  logic  of  political  thought,  he  has  probably  not 
been  equaled  among  the  public  men  of  America.  His  place  in  history 
is  due  to  his  commanding  influence  in  preparing  the  way  for  the 
Confederacy.  As  Justice  McLean  wrote  to  ex-President  JNIonroe, 
in  1831:  "Calhoun  ....  has  been  infatuated  with  his  Southern 
doctrines.    In  him  they  originated."'^ 

There  is  a  contemporary  miniature  of  Calhoun  by  Trumbull  in 
the  Yale  School  of  the  Fine  Arts.  It  was  painted  in  1827.  In  the 
opinion  of  the  editor  his  most  interesting  memorials  at  Yale  are  his 
letters  to  President  Day,  preserved  in  the  University  Library.     In 

18  Ibid.,  p.  501.        19  Ibid.,  p.  503.        20  Ibid.,  p.  503. 

21  Schouler,  History  of  the  United  States,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  442. 

[203] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

one  of  these,  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  the  Doctor  of  Laws  degree, 
Calhoun  wrote: 

In  the  prosperity  of  the  venerable  and  noble  institution,  over  which  you  preside, 
and  with  which  I  am  connected  by  so  endearing  a  tie,  I  take  the  deepest  interest. 
I  feel  it  to  be  the  duty  of  all  of  her  sons  to  act  in  a  manner  worthy  of  her  illustrious 
reputation,  and  that  I  have,  in  the  opinion  of  one  so  capable  of  forming  a  correct 
opinion,  in  some  degree  so  acted,  is  to  me  a  source  of  much  gratification.^^ 

He  wrote  again,  in  1826,  ending  with  these  words: 

I  consider  it,  as  one  of  the  fortunate  incidents  of  my  life,  that  early  inclination 
led  me  to  the  selection  of  Yale  as  the  place  of  my  education,  and  have  never  ceased 
to  feel  towards  it,  and  those  connected  with  it,  sentiments  of  my  esteem  and 
gratitude.'^ 

And  the  following  year  he  proved  his  loyalty  by  trying  to  arrange  to 
have  his  son  enter  the  College. 

In  his  Historical  Discourse,  delivered  at  Commencement,  1850, 
President  Woolsey  referred  to  Calhoun  as  "that  eminent  southern 
statesman,  whose  depth  of  thought  and  earnest  purpose,  united  to 
large  political  experience,  disinterestedness  and  independence,  gave 
him  unlimited  sway  over  the  minds  of  such  as  embraced  his  views  of 
the  Constitution.""* 

John  C.  Calhoun,  by  Professor  Von  Hoist,  is  the  most  suggestive 
sketch  of  his  political  life  and  influence.  There  are  several  other  good 
biographies,  while  his  Correspondence  was  published  in  a  large  volume, 
in  1900,  by  the  American  Historical  Association. 


Washington 

27th  May  1834 
Gentlemen, 

I  have  been  honoured  by  your  note,  inviting  me  in  the  name  of  the  citizens 
of  Fredericksburg,  Falmouth  &  their  vicinity  to  attend  a  Festival  on  the 
31^*^  Inst  in  celebration  of  the  result  of  the  late  election  in  Virginia. 

Regarding  the  result  of  your  late  election,  as  indicating  the  commence- 
ment of  a  salutary  change  in  the  publick  sentiment  of  the  state,  I  heartily 

22  Letter  to  President  Day,  December  2,  1822. 

23  Letter  to  President  Day,  December  14,  1826. 
2*  Woolsey,  Historical  Discourse,  p.  77. 

[204] 


STATESMEN— JOHN  CALDWELL  CALHOUN 

approve  of  the  object  of  your  festival,  and  would  with  pleasure  attend,  were 
I  not  restrained  by  a  rule,  on  that  I  have  acted  for  years ;  to  decline  all  invita- 
tions to  political  meetings,  &  that  was  adopted  for  reasons  unnecessary  to  be 
explained  on  the  present  occasion. 

Tho'  sufficient  has  been  done  to  excite  joy,  it  would  be  a  fatal  error  to 
suppose,  that  victory  is  already  achieved,  and  our  liberty  secured.  Much  has 
been  done,  but  much  more  still  remains  to  be  done.  Let  us  not  deceive  our- 
selves. Our  political  system  is  deeply  diseased;  and  nothing  short  of  a 
thorough  change  permeating  every  Department  of  the  Government,  can  restore 
our  institutions  to  a  healthy  condition.  It  would  be  a  tedious  task  to  undertake 
to  point  out  the  many  political  diseases  under  which  the  country  is  suffering: 
To  justify  what  I  have  asserted,  it  is  sufficient  to  remark,  that  the  publick 
funds  are  still  under  the  sole  &  exclusive  custody  of  the  President,  with 
scarcely  a  prospect  of  restoring  them  to  the  dominion  of  the  laws,  under  which 
they  were  intended  to  be  placed  by  the  constitution;  that  the  currency  is 
greatly  deranged  to  the  deep  injury  of  the  industry  &  commerce  of  the  country ; 
that  the  publick  disbursements  are  great  &  profuse  beyond  example,  and  still 
on  the  increase ;  while  the  publick  income  is  on  the  decline ;  which,  if  continued, 
must  soon  bring  us  to  the  period,  when  the  Government  must,  to  meet  its 
current  disbursements,  be  compelled  to  lay  new  duties,  or  to  borrow  money, 
and  thus  commence  a  new  debt,  at  the  moment  of  paying  off  the  old.  In  such 
a  state  of  things,  it  would  be  folly  to  consider  what  has  been  offered  to  be  more 
than  a  mere  commencement  of  the  great  work  of  arresting  usurpation  & 
correcting  abuses;  and  which  I  trust  will  continue  to  progress,  till  the  body 
politick  shall  be  restored  to  a  sound  &  healthy  condition.  To  leave  the  work 
half  done,  would  be  to  do  nothing  at  all. 

In  conclusion,  I  take  the  liberty  to  offer  the  following  sentiment. 

Our  political  institutions,  they  cannot  be  preserved,  without  maintaining 
sacredly  the  distribution  of  power,  established  by  the  Constitution,  and  rigid 
economy  and  accountability;  may  the  work  of  regeneration  progress,  till 
usurpation,  from  whatever  quarter  shall  be  put  down,  and  not  a  cent  be 
uselessly  expended,  or  without  being  duly  accounted  for. 

With  great  respect 
I  am  &  & 

J.  C.  Calhoun 
John  S.  Wellford  Esq^ 

&  other  members  of  the  Committee. 

This  letter  dates  from  the  time  when  the  new  Whig  party  was 
forming  in  opposition  to  President  Jackson.     It  was  on  October  1, 

[205] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

1833,  that  the  latter  had  ordered  the  deposits  removed  from  the 
United  States  Bank.  This  was  the  event  which  brought  to  a  head  the 
charge  of  executive  usurpation.  ^lany  of  Calhoun's  favorite  political 
doctrines  appear  in  this  letter:  his  emphasis  on  the  distribution  of 
powers  under  the  Constitution,  his  opposition  to  liigh  duties  and  to 
federal  extravagance,  his  growing  mistrust  of  the  Democratic  party, 
and  his  bitter  hostility  to  every  form  of  encroachment  by  the  President 
on  the  powers  of  Congress,  or  of  the  states. 


[206] 


STATESMEN— JOHN  MIDDLETON  CLAYTON 

John  Middleton  Clayton 
Class  of  1815 

Born,  July  24,  1796;  Died,  November  9,  1856 
Secretary  of  State 

The  name  of  Secretary  Clayton  is  principally  remembered  today 
because  of  the  Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty,  which  he  negotiated  for  the 
American  government,  but  there  was  a  time  when  he  was  a  national 
figure  in  political  life,  and  recognized  as  one  of  the  country's  ablest 
statesmen. 

He  was  born  in  Dagsborough,  Delaware,  and  prepared  for 
college  in  the  schools  of  Milford,  entering  Yale  when  fifteen  years 
old.  As  an  undergraduate  he  made  a  reputation  for  high  scholarship, 
strict  attention  to  work,  and  much  social  charm,  graduating  with 
distinguished  honor,  and  with  the  warm  attachment  of  his  classmates. 
Professor  Silliman,  who  was  one  of  his  instructors,  speaks  of  him  as 
"a  brilliant  scholar,  and  an  elegant  and  beautiful  young  man,"^  while 
in  a  congressional  tribute  to  his  memory  it  is  stated 

that,  during  the  four  years  he  was  a  student  and  member  of  Yale  College,  he  never 
missed  a  single  recitation;  never  once  absented  himself  from  prayers,  morning  or 
evening;  never,  during  the  whole  four  years,  was  once  absent  from  church;  and 
never,  upon  any  occasion,  violated  a  single  rule  or  law  of  the  college. - 

It  is  improbable  that  these  statements  can  be  substantiated,  but  enough 
is  known  to  account  for  their  currency,  and  to  show  that  his  record 
was  in  every  way  highly  creditable. 

Clayton  joined  Brothers  in  Unity,  and  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
he  was  early  dismissed  from  the  society  "at  his  own  request,'"*  he  was 
readmitted  in  Sophomore  year.  He  took  a  prominent  part  in  its 
work,  and  was  elected  its  Valedictory  Orator.  Here  are  some  entries 
from  its  records: 

1  Fisher,  Life  of  Benjamin  Silliman,  Vol.  II,  p.  97. 

2  Comegys,  Memoir  of  John  M.  Clayton,  p.  306. 

3  MS.  Records  of  Brothers  in  Unity  for  July  22,  1812. 

[207] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

The  Senior  Reader  Mr.  Clayton  afforded  us  much  amusement  with  his 
compositions  &  did  himself  much  honour  as  he  does  generally.* 

The  Senior  Reader  however  did  himself  great  honour — as  usual — not  only 
entertained  the  society  very  agreably  but  did  much  to  maintain  its  high  standing.® 

His  prominence  in  the  class  was  shown  at  the  Junior  Exhibition 
when  he  delivered  an  address  on  Military  Glory,  and  took  the  part 
of  Young  Easy  in  a  comedy  entitled  "The  Pedantic  Lawyer,  or  the 
Young  Gentleman  from  College."  At  graduation  he  was  assigned 
an  important  part — an  Oration  "On  the  Evils  resulting  from  too 
exalted  Expectations."  The  records  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society 
also  refer  to  him  in  his  Senior  year  as  "the  regular  chairman." 

Rev.  Dr.  Sprague  in  his  address  before  the  alumni,  in  1860,  told 
this  amusing  story  about  his  "bright,  kind-hearted,  impulsive"  and 
"much-loved  classmate": 

After  years  of  separation,  during  which  our  relations  in  life  had  undergone 
many  changes,  I  arrived  late  in  the  evening  at  a  hotel  in  New  Jersey,  and  stopped 
for  the  night.  As  I  entered  my  chamber,  I  saw  a  bed  before  me  already  occupied; 
and  the  instant  the  occupant  heard  my  voice  he  gave  one  hearty,  ungraceful  bound, 
which  brought  him  to  my  arms — and  it  was  Jack  Clayton.  It  is  needless  to  say 
that  we  had  Yale  College  in  our  chamber  during  most  of  the  night.® 

A  student  in  Clayton's  law  office  has  borne  similar  witness  to  his  keen 
enjoyment  of  college  life  and  its  memories,  which  he  recalled  "with 
a  zest  impossible  to  describe": 

He  was  full  of  fun  of  all  the  kinds  enjoyed  by  college  boys;  and  being,  at  a 
very  early  age,  a  good  performer  on  the  violin,  was  sought  after  by  the  students, 
and  was  friends  with  all  of  them  whose  society  he  desired  to  cultivate.  But  of  all 
his  companions  none  stood  so  high  in  his  affections  as  a  little  fellow,  a  year  behind 
him  in  age  and  studentship,  George  McClellan"  of  Philadelphia,  afterwards  the 
famous  surgeon,  and  the  father  of  the  present  Governor  of  New  Jersey.  I  have 
seen  the  two  together  whilst  Clayton  lived  at  New  Castle;  and  it  was  entertaining, 
to  a  degree  I  cannot  give  you  any  adequate  idea  of,  to  be  present  when  these  two 
brilliant   men,   greatly   distinguished   in   their    respective    careers,    forgot    all    their 

*  Ibid.,  for  November  16,  1814. 

5  Ibid.,  for  December  14,  1814. 

6  Sprague,  Influence  of   Yale  College  on  American  Civilization.     Reprinted  in  Barnard, 
American  Journal  of  Education,  Vol.  X,  pp.  683,  684. 

7  Father  of  General  McClellan  and  grandfather  of  Mayor  McClellan.     George  McClellan 
(B.A.  1816)  was  one  of  the  most  eminent  surgeons  of  his  day. 

[208  ] 


STATESMEN— JOHN  MIDDLETON  CLAYTON 

rank  and  consequence  in  what  a  great  poet  calls  a  revivescence  of  their  college 
life — those  school  days  which  Thackeray,  speaking  from  his  affectionate  and  tender 
heart,  calls  "the  happy,  the  bright,  the  unforgotten."* 

It  is  clear  that  Clayton  was  specially  marked  as  an  undergraduate 
by  those  strong  qualities  of  heart,  mind,  and  will  which  characterized 
him  later,  and  made  it  possible  for  him  to  become  a  poHtical  leader 
of  large  and  useful  influence. 

After  graduation  he  studied  law,  completing  his  professional 
training  by  two  years  at  the  Litchfield  School,  then  at  the  height  of 
its  fame.  Here  he  worked  hard — sixteen  hours  a  day^ — and  laid  the 
foundations  of  his  mastery  of  legal  principles,  which  quickly  enabled 
him  to  rise  to  prominence  at  the  Bar.  In  1824  he  began  his  political 
career  by  going  to  the  legislature.  Subsequently  he  was  Secretary 
of  State  of  Delaware,  a  member  of  the  State  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion, and  Chief  Justice.  He  was  in  the  United  States  Senate  from 
1829  to  1837,  and  from  1845  to  his  death,  except  for  a  short  period 
when  he  was  Secretary  of  State.  It  is  not  the  place  to  review  in 
detail  his  senatorial  career,  but  the  testimony  of  his  colleague  from 
Massachusetts,  William  H.  Seward,  may  appropriately  be  quoted : 

Those  who  shall  now  read,  as  I  am  sure  posterity  will  read,  the  recorded 
debates  of  the  Senate  for  the  period  embraced  within  the  last  twenty-five  years, 
will  find  that,  although  surrounded  by  mighty  men  in  argument  and  speech,  John 
M.  Clayton  was  one  among  the  few  effective  statesmen  who  determined  or  influenced 
the  administration  of  the  government  of  this  great  country.^" 

Clayton's  most  conspicuous  work  was  in  the  field  of  diplomacy. 
When  General  Zachary  Taylor  became  President,  in  1849,  he  realized 
his  lack  of  political  experience,  and  consequently  composed  his 
Cabinet  from  men  of  long  service  in  Congress.  Clayton  was  given 
the  State  portfolio  and  was  generally  considered  the  strongest  single 
factor  in  the  administration.  It  fell  to  his  lot  to  negotiate  with  Great 
Britain  a  treaty  which  would  make  possible  the  construction  of  an 

8  Comegys,  Memoir  of  John  M.  Clayton,  Papers  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Delaware, 

IV,  pp.  14,  is. 

»  Ibid.,  p.  16.        10  Ibid.,  p.  296. 

[209] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

interoceanic  canal  across  a  neutralized  Isthmus  of  Panama  on  terms 
of  equality  to  all  nations.  The  fact  that  this  treaty  was  abrogated 
a  half  century  later  by  the  Ilay-Pauncefote  agreement  does  not 
diminish  the  credit  that  should  be  given  him  for  successfully  concluding 
negotiations  on  such  a  broad  and  friendly  basis  that  one  distinguished 
statesman  has   referred  to   it   as   "the   first   universal   fact — a   fact 

indicating    the    ultimate    union    of    the    nations "^'      If    his 

diplomacy  erred  it  was  because  his  views  of  international  relations 
were  ahead  of  the  times,  not  behind  them.  Had  President  Taylor 
lived,  and  had  Clayton's  term  as  Secretary  of  State  been  extended, 
it  is  confidently  believed  that  his  comprehensive,  astute,  and  vigorous 
mind  would  have  enabled  him  to  complete  an  even  more  distinguished 
career  as  a  diplomat. 

There  is  no  memorial  of  Secretary  Cla}i;on  at  the  University, 
but  the  following  letter  from  President  Day,  written  to  him  near 
the  close  of  his  first  term  in  the  Senate,  may  serve  to  hand  down  to 
future  generations  the  high  estimate  in  which  he  was  held  by  his 
Alma  Mater: 

Yale  College,  Aug.  25,   1836. 

Dear  Sir: — It  is  with  no  ordinary  pleasure  that  I  have  the  privilege  of  stating 
to  you  that  the  corporation  of  this  college,  at  our  late  public  commencement, 
conferred  on  you  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws.  I  am  well  aware  that  these 
academic  titles  are  in  danger  of  losing  their  distinction,  by  being  distributed  with 
too  lavish  a  hand.  But  this  college  aims  to  proceed  on  the  principle  of  selecting 
those  who  will  confer  honor,  rather  than  receive  it,  by  being  enrolled  in  the  list  of 
its  favorites.  We  present  to  you  this  expression  of  our  regard,  not  with  the 
expectation  of  elevating  the  rank  which  you  already  hold  in  public  estimation,  but 
as  a  just  tribute  of  respect  to  distinguished  merit.  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with 
high  and  affectionate  regard. 

Your  friend  and  servant, 

J.  Day." 

The  Memoir  of  John  M.  Clayton,  bj^  Joseph  P.  Comegys, 
published  as  Volume  IV  of  the  Papers  of  the  Historical  Society  of 


11  Charles  Sumner.    Ibid.,  p.  298. 

12  Ibid.,  p.  136. 


[210] 


STATESMEN— JOHN  MIDDLETON  CLAYTON 

Delaware,  gives  an  interesting  account  of  his  life,  character,  and 
services,  from  the  standpoint  of  an  ardent  admirer. 


Department  of  State, 

Washington,  July  17,  1850. 
To  the  respective  Diplomatic  and  Consular 

Agents  of  the  United  States,  in  Europe. 
Sir, 

The  bearer  of  this  letter  is  Thurlow  Weed,  Esqr,  a  distinguished  citizen 
of  the  state  of  New  York.  Mr.  Weed  has,  for  many  years,  been  the  editor  of 
one  of  the  ablest  Journals  in  this  country.  He  is  a  gentleman,  for  whom  I 
entertain  the  highest  respect  and  esteem,  and,  as  such,  I  beg  to  introduce  him 
to  you  and  to  commend  him  to  your  kind  offices  and  attention. 

Very  respectfully 

Your  obt.  svt. 

John  M.  Clayton 

This  letter  was  written  a  week  after  President  Taylor's  death, 
but  before  Daniel  Webster  had  succeeded  Clayton  as  Secretary  of 
State.  Thurlow  Weed  was  at  the  time  editing  the  Albany  Evening 
Journal.  Although  he  declined  to  accept  public  office,  he  was  one 
of  the  most  influential  political  leaders  in  the  country. 


[211] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Samuel  Jones  Tilden 
Class  of  1837 

Born,  February  9,  1814;  Died,  August  4,  1886 

Governor  of  New  York,  and  Democratic  Candidate 
for  Presidency- 
Samuel  J.  Tilden  left  Yale  before  the  close  of  Sophomore  year, 
so  people  have  often  overlooked  his  New  Haven  connection,  but  he 
considered  himself  a  Yale  man,  and  his  only  academic  degree  was 
from  the  University. 

He  was  born  in  New  Lebanon,  New  York,  where  his  father  was 
a  farmer  and  merchant.  Martin  Van  Buren  was  a  family  friend, 
and  consequently  young  Tilden  was  accustomed  to  hear  politics 
warmly  and  intelligently  discussed  in  his  early  j^outh.  Just  before 
entering  college  he  had  identified  himself  with  the  Democrats  by 
preparing  a  manifesto  of  party  principles  that  was  used  in  the  state 
campaign.  Throughout  his  brief  undergraduate  career  he  kept  in 
close  touch  with  the  political  issues  of  the  day.  Tilden  was  matricu- 
lated with  the  Class  of  1837,  in  the  last  quarter  of  their  Freshmen 
year.  He  had  suffered  much  from  ill  health  and  had  hesitated  between 
a  private  tutor  and  a  college  education.  Finally  he  decided  to  go  to 
New  Haven  and  was  most  anxious  to  excel  among  his  fellow  students. 
He  wrote  his  father:  "I  never  would  make  mediocrity  my  aim  in 
anything,  certainly  anything  of  this  kind;  low  indeed  is  his  standard 

who  seeks  a  mere  equality  with  his  fellows "^    The  competition 

was  keen,  for  the  class  was  remarkable  for  the  number  of  men  of 
ability  who  later  gained  national  prominence  in  public  life:  Tilden 
as  the  candidate  of  his  party  for  the  presidency,  Waite  as  Chief 
Justice,  Pierrepont  as  Attorney  General,  and  Evarts  as  Secretary 
of  State.  These  facts  are  commemorated  in  some  doggerel  verses 
read  at  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  class.    They  are  from  the  pen 

1  Bigelow,  Life  of  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  Vol,  I,  p.  31. 

[212] 


STATESMEN— SAMUEL  JONES  TILDEN 

of  Rev.  George  Duffield  (B.A.  1837),  well  known  for  his  hymns  and 

occasional  poems: 

But  why  this  Class  so  "famous"?    As  yet  it  is  not  told. 

So  lend  to  me  attentive  ears,  while  I  the  tale  unfold. 

As  when  a  Patriarch's  wife  they  sought,  and  couldn't  elsewhere  pair  'em. 

They  brought  the  dromedaries  out,  and  rode  to  Padan-aram: 

So  Uncle  Sam,  when  days  were  dark,  with  lantern  straight  proceeded. 

At  once  to  Yale  and  Thirty-seven,  and  found  the  man  he  needed. 

Waite !  Pierrepont !  Evarts  !  first  he  called,  and  then  through  all  the  building, 

From  cellar  unto  garret,  full  loudly  called  for  Tilden! 

Sam  said  the  White  House  fairly  was  his  place. 

But  for  old  Zach,  who  jockeyed  in  the  race. 

Lis  est  sub  judice, — well,  let  it  pass. 

If  great  the  loss  for  Sam,  'twas  greater  for  the  Class. 

To-day,  at  least,  we  call  them  our  Big  Four, 

And  challenge  any  class  hereafter — to  do  more!^ 

Tilden  did  not  room  in  college,  but  had  lodgings  with  a  Mr. 
Gardner  on  Court  Street,  below  the  Tontine  Hotel.  He  started 
boarding  in  Commons,  but  the  menu  of  the  day  did  not  satisfy  his 
very  delicate  digestion: 

I  am  nearly  convinced  that  I  shall  be  obliged  to  give  up  boarding  at  Commons. 
I  have  had  two  days'  experience,  and  will  give  you  our  bill  of  fare.  Day  before 
yesterday  morning  we  had  a  dish  of  meat,  very  fresh  bread  and  butter,  coffee,  and 
nothing  else  whatever.  At  dinner,  boiled  shad  and  potatoes,  fresh  bread  and  butter 
and  rice  pudding,  enough  for  those  who  could  eat  such  things.  At  tea,  fresh  bread 
and  butter  and  cheese  and  some  molasses  cake,  which  by  the  bye,  comes  only 
occasionally.  The  next  morning,  shad  and  potatoes  and  fresh  bread  and  butter 
again.  Either  of  these  articles  I  could  sometimes  eat,  but  could  not  do  it  constantly. 
I  have  not  been  as  well  as  common  for  a  few  days ;  and  when  I  study,  it  is  necessary 
to  diet  with  more  care  than  when  engaged  in  other  employments,  or  in  nothing. 
The  bread  has  been  uniformly  newly  baked,  and,  as  I  think  of  all  the  New  Haven 
bread  I  have  seen,  slackly  baked,  and  yesterday  it  was  scarcely  cold;  and  I  could 
procure  no  other.  I  shall  see  to-day  what  I  can  do,  and  unless  I  can  be  assured 
of  well-done  and  stale  bread  shall  board  with  Mr.  Goodman.  Perhaps  it  is  best 
to  do  so  at  once.     The  butter  is  pretty  good.' 

Commons  has  been  a  favorite  object  of  undergraduate  criticism  at 
Yale  for  almost  two  centuries — as  indeed  it  is  always  apt  to  be  at 
every  college — but  Tilden's  attack  differs  from  most.     It  is  mainly 

2  Record  of  the  Class  of  1837,  Seventh  Edition,  1887,  p.  1(5. 

3  Bigelow,  Life  of  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  Vol.  I,  p.  47. 

[  213  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

based  on  the  fact  that  the  bread  is  not  sufficiently  stale !  A  week  after 
writing  this  letter  to  his  father  he  sends  him  word  that  he  has  moved 
to  a  private  boarding  house,  and  that  as  a  result,  his  "health  is 
decidedly  better  and  improving."  Horseback  riding  was  also  resorted 
to,  to  build  up  his  constitution,  but  according  to  Hon.  John  Bigelow, 
"the  diet,  the  climate  and  the  confinement  affected  him  so  unfavorably 
that,  when  he  went  home  for  the  Christmas  holida^^s  [of  Sophomore 
year] ,  he  was  so  completely  broken  down  in  health  that  it  was  decided 
he  should  not  return."*  The  climate  of  New  Haven  has  its  limitations. 
As  Dr.  Holmes  said,  in  New  England  we  have  no  weather,  only 
samples,  but  it  seems  unnecessary  for  the  distinguished  biographer 
of  Tilden  to  have  singled  out  this  ancient  and  healthy  town  for  special 
notoriety  on  this  account. 

So  Tilden's  stay  at  Yale  was  brief,  and  the  College's  influence 
upon  him  was  relatively  small.  The  official  letter  informing  him,  in 
July,  1875,  of  his  degree  from  the  University,  was  from  Secretary 
Dexter,  and  read  as  follows : 

I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  in  an  official  way  that  the  President  and  Fellows 
of  this  college  at  the  recent  public  commencement  conferred  upon  you  the  honorary 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws,  and  in  connection  with  that  act  enrolled  you  with  the 
academical  graduates  of  the  college  in  the  class  of  1837. 

In  thus  recognizing  the  eminent  public  services  which  have  so  abundantly 
deserved  the  honorable  regard  of  all  public-spirited  men,  the  corporation  are 
especially  proud  to  recall  the  fact  that  the  foundations  of  your  educational  training 
were  in  part  laid  here,  and  to  claim  you  in  virtue  of  this  former  connection  as  an 
alumnus  of  Yale ^ 

After  fitting  himself  for  the  Bar,  partly  at  the  University  of 
New  York,  he  began  his  legal  career  in  the  metropolis.     He  served 

iJbid.,  p.  46. 

5  Ibid.,  p.  273.  Mr.  Tilden's  reply — preserved  in  the  Library — does  not  indicate  any 
special  devotion  to  the  University: 

"Your  letter,  officially  apprizing  me  that  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Yale  College,  at 
their  recent  public  commencement,  conferred  upon  me  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  I>aws 
and  in  connection  with  that  enrolled  me  with  the  academical  graduates  of  the  College  in  the 
class  of  1837,  has  been  received. 

"I  beg  you.  Sir,  to  convey  to  the  Corporation  my  very  respectful  and  grateful  acknowl- 
edgement of  these  distinguished  marks  of  favorable  consideration,  and  cordially  to  thank 
the  President  and  Fellows,  in  my  name,  for  the  flattering  expressions  of  regard,  which  they 
have  been  pleased  to  tender  through  you,  for  myself  and  whatever  of  public  service  I  may  have 
been  able  to  render." 

[214] 


STATESMEN— SAMUEL  JONES  TILDEN 

in  the  State  Assembly,  was  a  member  of  the  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion of  1846,  was  at  one  time  or  another  counsel  for  most  of  the  great 
railroad  companies  of  the  Middle  Atlantic  and  North  Central  States, 
and  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  New  York  Bar  Association.  He 
was  recognized  as  a  great  corporation  lawj'^er.  But  his  activity  at 
the  Bar  did  not  prevent  his  maintaining  and  increasing  his  interest 
in  public  and  political  affairs.  He  was  becoming  the  recognized  leader 
of  the  New  York  Democracy,  while  his  vigorous  and  successful 
opposition  to  the  Tweed  Ring,  and  to  the  perversion  of  justice  by 
corrupt  judges  in  the  state,  made  him  a  national  figure  in  political 
reform. 

In  1874,  he  was  the  successful  Democratic  candidate  for  Governor 
of  New  York,  winning  over  Governor  John  A.  Dix  by  a  plurality 
of  fifty  thousand  votes.  It  was  a  brilliant  victory,  and  it  was  followed 
by  a  stirring  message  to  the  legislature  on  public  extravagance  and 
corruption,  that  formed  the  prelude  to  a  highly  creditable  term  as 
chief  executive  of  the  state.  Efficiency  and  economy  were  two  of  the 
matters  on  which  he  laid  most  emphasis  during  his  administration. 

In  1876  he  was  nominated  for  the  presidency  of  the  United 
States  by  the  National  Democratic  Convention  in  St.  Louis.  His 
campaign  was  conducted  almost  entirely  on  the  need  of  a  thorough 
reform  in  the  government  service,  which  had  become  demoralized  in 
Grant's  second  term.  The  popular  vote  for  Tilden  was  4,284,265, 
and  for  Hayes  4,033,295,  while  the  official  vote,  as  finally  determined 
by  the  Electoral  Commission,  on  strictly  party  lines,  gave  Hayes 
one  hundred  and  eighty-five  votes,  and  Tilden  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
four.  This  is  not  the  place  to  record  the  details  of  the  contest. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  Tilden  had  one  hundred  and  eighty-four  votes 
on  the  original  count,  Haj^es  one  hundred  and  eighty-two,  with  tln-ee 
doubtful  states  under  "Carpet-bag"  governments.  The  Republicans, 
therefore,  required  for  success  every  elector  from  the  contested  states, 
Louisiana,  Florida,  and  South  Carolina.  They  got  them,  although 
the  verdict  of  history  is  that,  at  least  in  Louisiana,  the  Tilden  elector 

[215] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

had  been  legally  chosen.  So  he  lost  the  presidency  by  a  single  vote, 
but  his  conduct  under  the  most  trying  circumstances  was  so  restrained, 
honorable,  and  patriotic,  that  the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  was 
increased  rather  than  diminished. 

In  1880,  and  again  in  1884,  pressure  was  brought  to  bear  upon 
him  to  lead  the  Democratic  forces  a  second  time,  but  he  declined.  His 
later  years  were  spent  quietly,  reading  being  his  main  resource. 
Tilden  was  a  distinguished  lawyer,  but  he  left  three  monuments 
greater  than  any  private  success  at  the  Bar.  First,  he  stirred  the 
public  conscience,  and  raised  the  standard  of  municipal  life,  by  his 
vigorous  and  successful  prosecution  of  the  corrupt  Tammany  Ring 
under  Boss  Tweed;  second,  he  led  in  the  movement  to  recreate  an 
historical  national  party,  which  was  again  put  on  its  feet  by  his  success 
as  Governor  of  New  York  and  by  his  candidacy  for  the  presidency; 
and  third,  being  a  bachelor,  he  left  by  will  the  bulk  of  his  fortune^  of 
many  million  dollars  to  New  York  City  for  a  public  library. 

It  was  not  until  the  publication  of  Writings  and  Speeches  of 
Samuel  J.  Tilden,  Life  of  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  and  Letters  and  Literary 
Memorials  of  Samuel  J,  Tilden,  important  volumes  by  Hon.  John 
Bigelow,  that  most  people  fully  realized  how  cultivated  and  high- 
minded  a  man,  and  how  broad-gauge  a  statesman  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  really  was. 


(Confidential) 

New  York  Jan  7  1866 
Hon. 

H.  A.  Smythe 

My  Dear  Sir, 
William  T.  McGrath,  Esq. — is  the  name  of  the  gentleman, — residing  at 
221  East  18*^  street, — of  whom  I  spoke  to  you  in  respect  to  an  Inspectorship 

8  Hon.  John  Bigelow  shortly  before  his  death  wrote  to  the  author,  in  response  to  an  inquiry, 
saying  that  he  had  never  heard  Mr.  Tilden  refer  to  the  possibility  of  making  Yale  his  main 
beneficiary.  Mr.  Bigelow  apparently  did  not  believe  the  oft-repeated  rumor,  that  remarks 
condemnatory  of  his  candidacy  for  the  presidency,  from  high  Yale  sources,  diverted  Mr. 
Tildcn's  money  from  Yale  to  the  New  York  Public  Library.  It  is  known,  however,  that  he 
was  offended  by  the  strong  opposition  of  the  majority  of  the  College  community  to  his 
presidential  candidacy. 

[  216  ] 


STATESMEN— SAMUEL  JONES  TILDEN 

of  the  Customs, — unless,  indeed,  you  have  something  better  to  bestow.  I 
recommend  Mr.  M.  G.,  without  qualification,  and  take  a  special  personal 
interest  in  his  appointment. 

Very  truly, 

S.    J.    TiLDEN 

This  letter  makes  a  good  exhibition  piece  but  it  is  of  little 
intrinsic  value.  It  is  difficult  to  find  holographic  letters  of  Tilden 
that  contain  interesting  contents.  American  political  conditions  in 
the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century — prior  to  the  days  of  Civil 
Service  Reform — are  reflected  by  the  fact  that  so  large  a  proportion 
of  the  letters  of  the  most  representative  public  men  which  find  their 
way  to  autograph  auctions,  have  to  do  with  requests  for  office.  This 
letter  was  written  in  the  year  when  Tilden's  capacity  for  party- 
leadership  was  recognized  by  his  election  to  the  chairmanship  of  the 
New  York  State  Democratic  Committee. 


[217] 


III.     SUPPLEMENTARY  NAMES 


Philip  Livingston  (Class  of  1737),  Born,  1716;  Died,  1778. 

Philip  Livingston  was  one  of  the  most  consistent  patriots  in  New  York 
both  immediately  preceding  and  during  the  Revolution.  He  was  a  delegate 
to  the  Stamp  Act  Congress,  and  was  unanimously  elected  Speaker  of  the 
Provincial  Assembly,  later  serving  as  its  President.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Continental  Congress  from  1774  until  his  death,  and  in  this  capacity 
signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  In  addition  to  this  he  should  be 
specially  remembered  as  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Correspondence  of 
the  New  York  Assembly,  from  which  Edmund  Burke  derived  his  enlightened 
views  of  American  conditions.  It  was  at  his  residence  on  Brooklyn  Heights 
that  Washington  held  the  Council  of  War  which  decided  on  the  retreat  from 
Long  Island.  He  was  a  public-spirited  citizen,  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
New  York  Society  Library,  and  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  a  member 
of  the  first  board  of  governors  of  the  New  York  Hospital. 

The  autograph  is  a  document  signed  by  Livingston  shortly  after  he  joined 
the  New  York  Board  of  Aldermen  in  the  autumn  of  1754.  This  was  before 
Stamp  Act  days  as  the  loyal  document,  addressed  to  the  Sheriff,  and  calling 
a  "sessions  of  the  peace,"  witnesses : 

....  Greeting  on  Behalf  of  our  said  Lord  the  King,  we  Command  you  that 
you  omitt  not,  for  any  Liberties  within  your  Bailwick,  But  that  you  enter  the  same 
and  Cause  to  Come  before  us  and  our  associates.  Justices  of  the  Peace,  .... 
Twenty  four  honest  and  Lawfull  men  of  the  said  City  and  County,  every  one  ^ 
whereof  hath  at  the  Least  in  yearly  Rents  of  Lands  &  Tenements  forty  shillings 
by  the  year  and  then  and  there  to  enquire  upon  their  Oaths  of  such  things  which 
on  Behalf  of  our  Lord  the  King  shall  be  there  enjoyned 


Lewis  Morris  (Class  of  1746),  Born,  1726;  Died,  1798. 

Morris'  biographer  informs  us  that  "at  the  age  of  sixteen  he  was  sent  to 
Yale  College,  where,  under  the  care  of  the  learned  and  pious  Dr.  Clap,  he  was 
taught  the  learned  languages  and  mathematics ;  and  his  youthful  mind  was 
imbued  with  the  lessons  of  morality  and  religion.'"     But  evidently  his  father 

1  Robert  Wain,  Jr.,  Biographies  of  the  Signers,  Vol.  IX,  p.  121. 

[218] 


STATESMEN— SUPPLEMENTARY  NAMES 

thought  otherwise,. for  in  his  will,  dated  1760,  he  left  special  injunctions  that 
his  younger  son,  Gouverneur  Morris,  should  not  go  to  Connecticut  for  his 
education,  "lest  in  his  youth  he  should  imbibe  that  low  craft  and  cunning  so 
incident  to  the  people  of  that  country."^ 

The  high  social  rank  of  his  family  gave  him  the  first  position  in  his  class 
list.  After  leaving  college  (his  degree  was  not  conferred  until  1790)  he  led 
the  life  of  a  successful  farmer,  as  third  Lord  of  the  Morrisania  estate.  In 
1775,  he  was  elected  to  the  Continental  Congress.  There  he  signed  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  well  knowing  that  this  would  make  his  extensive 
country  estate  a  special  object  of  attack  by  the  British  soldiers.  He  rendered 
important  service  as  a  member  of  the  Committee,  of  which  Washington  was 
chairman,  to  consider  ways  and  means  of  securing  arms  and  military  supplies 
for  the  army.  Morris  also  served  the  cause  of  the  colonies  as  a  Brigadier 
General  of  Militia,  and  as  the  agent  of  Congress  to  try  to  detach  the  Indian 
tribes  from  loyalty  to  Britain. 

The  document  accompanying  Morris'  engraving  is  a  receipt  fbr  money 
due  him,  in  April,  1778,  for  attending  sixty-seven  sessions  of  the  New  York 
Senate.  For  this  he  received  "One  hundred  and  thirty-four  Dollars,"  then 
the  equivalent,  according  to  the  paper,  of  fifty-three  pounds  and  twelve 
shillings. 


Lyman  Hall  (Class  of  1747),  Born,  1724;  Died,  1790. 

Although  born  and  educated  in  Connecticut  his  life  is  identified  with  the 
Colony  of  Georgia,  where  he  was  foremost  in  the  movement  which  led  to  an 
independent  state  government.  He  was  a  minister  and  a  doctor,  but  his 
reputation  rests  entirely  on  his  patriotic  and  intelligent  statesmanship.  He 
was  one  of  Yale's  four  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  of  whom 
three  were  in  college  at  the  same  time.  His  five  years  in  the  Continental 
Congress  were  soon  followed  by  his  election  as  first  Governor  of  his  adopted 
state.  These  two  characteristic  sentences  make  up  over  a  half  of  his  brief 
inaugural  address : 

The  early  and  decided  part  wliich  I  took  in  the  cause  of  America  originated 
from  a  full  conviction  of  the  justice  and  rectitude  of  the  cause  we  engaged  in,  has 
uniformly  continued  as  the  principle  of  my  heart,  and  I  trust  will  to  the  last 
moments  of  my  life. 

If  I  can,  by  a  strict  attention  to  the  various  objects  of  government,  and  a 
steady   and   impartial   exertion   of  the   powers   with   which   you   have   invested   me, 

2  The  will  is  in  Surrogate's  Office,  New  York,  Liber  23,  p.  4:26. 

[219] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

carry  into  execution  the  wise  and  salutary  laws  of  the  State,  it  will  afford  a  pleasing 
prospect  of  our  future  welfare,  brighten  the  dawn  of  independence,  and  establish 
the  genuine  principles  of  whigism  on  a  firm  and  permanent  foundation.^ 

A  bounty  certificate  filled  in  and  signed  by  Hall  as  Governor,  is  appended. 
It  states  "That  Thomas  Lestor  a  Soldier  in  the  Georgia  Line  is  entitled  to 
one  hundred  Acres  of  Land,  as  a  Bounty,  agreeable  to  an  Act  and  Resolve  of 
the  General  Assembly,  ....  and  to  one  hundred  acres  by  the  Resolution  of 
Congress." 


Theodore  Sedgwick  (Class  of  1765),  Born,  1746;  Died,  1813. 

Sedgwick  had  his  collegiate  training  at  Yale.  It  included  a  good  lesson 
in  the  need  of  regarding  the  rights  of  property,  for  he  was  fined  several  shillings 
for  an  escapade  in  Connecticut  Hall.  He  broke  into  a  tutor's  bin,  and  upset 
some  of  his  cider  "which  damnified  the  cellar"  !* 

After  graduating  he  pursued  professional  studies  in  divinity  under  Dr. 
Bellamy  (q.v.),  and  in  law  under  Mark  Hopkins  (B.A.  1758),  the  grand- 
father of  President  Hopkins  of  Williams.  His  college  course  was  made  possible 
by  the  self-sacrifice  of  his  older  brother,  who  turned  from  farming  to  tavern- 
keeping  that  he  might  secure  the  necessary  money. 

In  his  later  career  he  was  one  of  Massachusetts'  ablest  and  most  patriotic 
men.  He  was  an  aide  to  General  Thomas  in  the  Revolution,  and  was  one  of 
the  leaders  in  the  suppression  of  Shays'  Rebellion.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Continental  Congress,  United  States  Senator  from  Massachusetts  (being 
President  'pro  tempore  of  the  Senate,  in  1797),  and  Speaker  of  the  National 
House  of  Representatives.  For  the  last  ten  years  of  his  life  he  was  a  distin- 
guished Judge  of  his  state's  Supreme  Court.  Both  Harvard  and  Princeton 
honored  themselves  by  conferring  upon  him  their  highest  degrees.  His  daughter 
was  the  well-known  authoress,  Catherine  Sedgwick,  while  his  eldest  son  (B.A. 
1798)  became  an  eminent  lawyer. 

The  letter  is  a  protest  against  the  condition  of  the  road  to  Litchfield, 
Connecticut,  in  1801.  This  "is  very  bad  owing  in  a  particular  manner  to  the 
innumerable  small  stone,  and  very  many  of  them  loose  in  the  path  ....  the 
road  ....   should  be  much  more  crowning  which  would  prevent  the  necessity 

of  the  large  (too  large)   Ridges  across  your  path "     Most  excellent 

advice  even  today. 

3  Jones,  Biographical  Sketches  of  the  Delegates  from  Georgia  to  the  Continental  Congress, 
p.  101. 

*  New  Haven  Colony  Historical  Society  Papers,  Vol.  VII,  pp.  289,  290. 

[  220  ] 


STATESMEN— SUPPLEMENTARY  NAMES 

Nathaniel  Chipman  (Class  of  1777),  Born,  1752;  Died,  1853. 

This  eminent  jurist  and  statesman  began  his  public  career  when  a  Yale 
undergraduate.  As  a  Sophomore  he  published  a  poem  which  contained  these 
lines : 

Rise !  sons  of  freedom !  close  the  glorious  fight, 

Stand  for  religion,  for  your  country's  right. 

Resist  the  tyrant,  disappoint  his  hopes, 

Fear  not  his  navies,  or  his  veteran  troops.' 

Accordingly   he  left   college   in   Senior  year,   having   obtained   a   lieutenant's 
commission.     He  wrote  to  his  classmate  Cogswell  from  the  field : 

But  I  no  more  Parnassus  tread 
A  foolish  whim  has  turned  my  head. 
The  Muse  has  lost  her  wonted  charms 
And  I  am  rushing  on  to  arms.^ 

Judge  Chipman  was  not  only  an  all-round  scholar  at  Yale,  but  he  spent 
his  time  wisely  in  making  use  of  the  larger  privileges  of  the  institution, 
especially  the  Library.    Here  is  his  own  advice  based  on  his  college  experience : 

If  you  calculate  to  become  a  scholar  of  any  distinction,  solely  by  studying  your 
lessons,  so  as  to  appear  well  at  your  recitations,  you  will  be  sadly  disappointed. 
Or  if  you  pursue  your  studies  without  system,  reading  this  or  that,  as  you  may  be 
prompted  by  the  feelings  of  the  moment,  you  will  only  dissipate  the  mind.  You 
will  never  either  discipline  the  mind,  or  lay  up  in  order  any  store  of  useful  knowl- 
edge. If  you  calculate  only  from  day  to  day  to  get  your  recitations,  you  will  sit 
down  to  them  as  a  task,  and  will  not  acquire  a  taste  for  your  studies,  or  take  any 
pleasure  in  pursuing  them;  and  if  you  do  not,  it  will  be  better  to  quit  your  studies, 
no  matter  how  soon.  Whereas  if  you  pursue  your  studies  systematically  and  with 
diligence,  not  confining  yourself  to  your  recitations,  but  keeping  in  advance  of  them, 
in  all  your  classical  studies,  and  spending  but  a  short  time  in  reviewing  them,  you 
will  be  far  more  likely  to  acquire  a  taste  for  your  studies  and  pursue  them,  not  as 
a  dreaded  task,  but  as  a  most  pleasant  enjoyment.^ 

After  seeing  two  years  of  active  service  he  studied  law,  and  rose  steadily 
to  prominence.  Among  the  posts  which  he  filled  with  honor  were  the  Chief 
Justiceship  of  Vermont,  the  United  States  District  Judgeship  of  the  same 
state,  by  appointment  of  Washington,  and  the  United  States  Senatorship. 
He  was  a  commissioner  to  negotiate  the  admission  of  his  native  state  to  the 
Union,  and  later  to  determine  the  long-standing  boundary  dispute  with  New 
York.     He  was  also  Professor  of  Law  in  Middlebury  College,  and  the  author 

5  Johnston,  Yale  in  the  American  Revolution,  p.  11. 

^Ibid.,  p.  85. 

''Life  of  Hon.  Nathaniel  Chipman,  pp.  10,  11. 

[  221  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

of  legal  and  political  works,  including  Sketches  of  the  Principles  of  Govern- 
ment, an  important  early  publication  in  its  field.  Little  wonder  that  Vermont 
erected  a  monument  to  his  memory,  with  this  inscription:  "A  principal 
founder  of  the  civil  institutions  of  this  State,  and  framer  of  its  fundamental 
laws." 

The  letter,  written  from  Tinmouth,  in  1818,  is  devoted  to  business  matters. 


Retuen  Jonathan  Meigs  (Class  of  1785),  Born,  1764;  Died,  1825. 

Meigs  inherited  his  extraordinary  name.  The  University  Library  has 
a  rare  poem  by  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  written  in  his  Junior  year  and 
"spoken  in  the  Chapel  of  Yale-College,  at  the  Quarterly  Exhibitions,  March 
9th,  1784."  It  was  his  only  literary  effort — aside  from  official  papers — as  his 
life  was  one  of  constant  occupation  with  public  affairs.  He  had  his  initiation 
into  them  by  being  prominent  in  the  undergraduate  community,  presiding,  for 
instance,  as  Master  of  Ceremonies,  at  the  Linonia  anniversary  in  his  Senior 
year.  He  was  the  first  Chief  Justice  of  the  state  of  Ohio,  was  Governor  of 
the  state  and  its  representative  in  the  United  States  Senate,  also  Postmaster 
General  of  the  United  States  for  almost  ten  years,  under  both  Madison  and 
Monroe.  He  was  an  ardent  patriot,  holding  a  commission  in  the  army,  and 
participating  in  many  early  Indian  fights,  while  during  the  War  of  1812,  as 
Governor  of  Ohio,  he  made  a  national  reputation  for  his  exceptional  efficiency 
in  assisting  the  military  authorities. 

The  collection  contains  an  interesting  letter,  written  in  1800,  when  Meigs 
was  United  States  Senator.  It  is  addressed  to  Hon.  George  Tod  (B.A.  1795), 
a  Judge  of  the  Ohio  Supreme  Court:  "Congress  adjourns  on  the  28th  instant. 
There  has  been  an  uncommon  degree  of  Harmony  manifested  this  session — On 
the  amendment  to  the  non  Intervention  Act  (so  as  to  adopt  it  to  the  recent 
Change  in  our  Foreighn  [sic]  relations)  the  Senate  were  unanimous." 


John  Davis  (Class  of  1812),  Born,  1787;  Died,  1854. 

"Honest  John  Davis"  is  one  of  the  large  number  of  men  discussed  in  these 
pages  who  felt  under  special  obligations  to  the  teachings  and  character  of 
President  Dwight.  He  was  an  eminent  Worcester  lawyer  who  served  ten 
years  in  Congress  as  a  Whig,  and  two  terms  each  as  Governor  of  Massachusetts 
and  United  States  Senator.  He  was  noted  for  practical  sagacity,  independence, 
and  spotless  integrity,  and  carried  great  weight  in  political  councils.  His 
opposition   to    slavery   cost   him   the   nomination    for   the   vice-presidency,    in 

[222] 


STATESMEN— SUPPLEMENTARY  NAMES 

1844,  but  it  was  Henry  Clay's  intention,  if  elected  President,  to  make  him 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  During  the  second  quarter  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  although  eclipsed  in  brilliancy  by  many  senatorial  colleagues,  there 
were  few  men  in  New  England  public  life  who  equaled  him  in  character,  ability, 
and  influence,  especially  on  financial  legislation. 

"The  future  biographer  of  Governor  Davis,"  said  the  New  York  Tribune 
in  discussing  his  death,  "will  do  him  injustice  if  he  fails  to  hold  him  up  as  a 
man  eminently  fitted  for  emergencies;  as  a  man  of  clear  judgment,  resolute 
purpose,  ready  to  act  without  apprehension,  without  equivocation,  and  without 
compromising.  In  these  qualities  he  occupies  a  rank  inferior  to  none  of  his 
contemporaries "^ 

The  exhibited  letter  is  an  inquiry  from  the  Senate  Chamber  in  December, 
1839,  regarding  "the  exaction  of  duties  upon  vessels  engaged  in  the  whale 
fishery." 


Alphonso  Taft  (Class  of  1833),  Born,  1810;  Died,  1891. 

Alphonso  Taft,  father  of  the  President  (B.A.  1878),  started  the  Taft 
tradition  at  Yale.  He  was  one  of  the  highest  scholars  in  his  class,  and  was 
a  prominent  and  respected  figure  in  undergraduate  life.  He  delivered  orations 
both  at  the  Junior  Exhibition,  and  at  Commencement,  the  former  on  Political 
Integrity,  the  latter  on  Symmetry  of  Mental  Culture.  He  always  retained 
his  deep  interest  in  the  University,  from  which  his  five  sons  were  graduated, 
and  of  which  he  was  at  one  time  a  tutor,  and  later  one  of  the  first  "Alumni 
Fellows."  Mr.  Taft  was  an  eminent  Ohio  lawyer,  who  was  also  a  leading 
Republican,  and  an  active  and  independent  citizen.  He  was  defeated  for 
Congress  and  for  the  governorship,  but  served  on  the  Superior  Court  of 
Cincinnati,  as  Secretary  of  War,  Attorney  General  of  the  United  States,  and 
Minister  to  Austria,  and  later  to  Russia. 

The  letter,  written  from  his  law  ojffice  in  Cincinnati,  in  the  autumn  of 
1877,  is  characteristic  of  the  man's  independence.  It  is  directed  to  "Bob 
Ingersoll,"  and  consistent  with  the  principles  of  religious  toleration  of  a  good 
Unitarian,  he  defends  Thomas  Paine  against  what  he  believes  to  be  the  attacks 
of  bigots. 

"I  was  glad  to  see  your  letter,  setting  forth  the  character  &  death  of  Paine 
in  the  light  of  truth.  I  never  believed  the  lies  told  of  him  by  the  *o^er  gude' 
but  had  not  investigated  the  facts.  You  have  done  the  cause  of  truth  &  justice 
a  great  service,  and  altho'  you  may  not  stop  their  lying,  you  will  break  the 

8  Quoted  by  Hill,  Sermon  on  the  Death  of  Hon.  John  Davis,  p.  25. 

[223] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

force  of  their  lies.  It  is  wonderful  that  Christianity  shd  be  the  cause  of  so 
much  malice  against  good  &  just  men.  As  to  politics  the  prospects  of  the 
republican  party  are  at  present  discouraging." 


Hexry  Laurens  Dawes  (Class  of  1839),  Born,  1816;  Died,  1903. 

After  graduation  he  taught  school  and  edited  country  papers  until  his 
admission  to  the  Bar,  when  he  held  in  rapid  succession  various  state  offices. 
He  entered  Congress  in  1857,  and  succeeded  Charles  Sumner  in  the  Senate, 
in  1875.  During  his  many  terms  in  this  body  he  was  one  of  its  most  active 
and  useful  members,  being  specially  efficient  as  chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Ways  and  Means.  He  will  be  mainly  known  to  posterity  as  the  head  of 
the  Dawes  Indian  Commission.  "The  entire  system  of  Indian  education  due 
to  legislation  was  created  by  Mr.  Dawes."®  He  also  did  much  to  protect  the 
Indians'  rights,  and  secured  the  adoption  of  the  bill  making  them  subject  to 
the  criminal  law  and  protected  by  it.  His  Alma  Mater  and  Williams  College 
both  recognized  his  eminent  services  by  conferring  upon  him  the  Doctor  of 
Laws  degree.  He  was  a  strong  Protectionist — too  much  so  to  satisfy  Yale's 
professors  of  economics — but  he  tried  to  live  up  to  the  ideal  of  his  subject  at 
the  Junior  Exhibition,  "the  ultimate  triumph  of  moral  and  political  truth." 
Referring  to  the  University  in  later  life  he  called  himself  "one  of  the  most 
grateful  of  her  children,"  and  wrote  that  the  graduate  never  so  loses  himself 
"in  the  outside  world  that  he  does  not  instinctively  cleave  to  those  who  wear 
her  signet  as  to  a  band  of  brothers. "^° 

The  autograph  letter  reflects  the  gloom  in  Washington  in  1868,  during 
the  period  of  reconstruction:  "I  am  full  of  anxiety  and  trouble.  We  are 
walking  on  the  perilous  edge  of  a  precipice,  a  single  miss  step  and  we  are  lost — 
To  turn  back  is  impossible — to  go  forward  is  to  enter  a  cloud  of  thick  darkness, 
uncertainty  and  doubt — There  will  be  no  division  in  our  ranks.  We  shall — 
because  we  must — go  right  on  to  the  end,  trusting  in  God — " 


Joseph  Emerson  Beown  (Class  of  1846  Law),  Born,  1821;  Died,  1894. 

The  most  casual  reader  of  the  large  volume  entitled  Life  and  Times  of 
Joseph  E.  Brown,  cannot  but  be  impressed  with  the  character  and  intellectual 
power  of  one  of  the  most  marked  figures  in  Southern  politics  during  the  middle 
of  the  nineteenth  century.    Wishing  a  better  education  than  his  native  Georgia 

8  Appleton,  American  Biography,  Vol.  II,  p.  107. 

10  Letter  to  Boston  Alumni  Association,  January  24,  1873. 

[224] 


STATESMEN— SUPPLEMENTARY  NAMES 

could  give  him,  he  came  to  New  Haven,  where,  "having  the  advantage  of  a 
previous  course  of  thorough  and  severe  study  of  law,  he  was  enabled  to  keep 
up  with  his  law  classes,  and  also  found  time  to  take  a  liberal  literary  course."" 
He  always  appreciated  what  his  year  at  the  Yale  Law  School — his  only  college 
training — meant  to  him,  and  throughout  his  life  tried  to  encourage  higher 
education.  He  founded  a  scholarship  loan  fund  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  at 
the  University  of  Georgia,  writing  to  the  Trustees:  "I  know  from  experience 
in  early  life  the  feelings  of  a  youth  desirous  of  educating  himself  without  the 
means  to  do  so ;  and  the  good  fortune  which  a  loan  of  money  for  support  while 
engaged  in  study  was  considered  as  conferring  upon  the  recipient.'"^ 

After  attaining  eminence  at  the  Bar  he  held  the  posts  of  Governor  of 
Georgia  (throughout  the  war  period).  Chief  Justice  of  the  state,  and  United 
States  Senator  for  two  terms.  Although  his  views  of  state  rights  made  him 
a  secessionist,  no  one  in  the  South  was  more  active  and  broad-minded  after 
the  war  in  trying  to  reestablish  the  Union.  His  cooperation  with  the 
Washington  authorities  cost  him  much  unpopularity  and  abuse  at  the  time, 
but  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  regaining  his  position,  and  of  being  elected  by 
a  large  majority  to  the  national  Senate  after  delivering  a  really  remarkable 
address  on  the  part  he  had  played  in  reconstruction.  This  address,^^  his  legal 
argument^*  in  behalf  of  Tilden's  election  before  the  Florida  electoral  board, 
and  his  correspondence^^  with  Jefferson  Davis  on  the  subject  of  conscription — 
which  he  opposed — show  him  to  have  been  a  man  of  exceptional  capacity. 

The  letter  in  the  collection  was  written  in  1869.  In  it  he  says:  "My 
duties  as  Chief  Justice  of  my  state  occupy  so  large  a  proportion  of  my  time 
as  to  leave  me  no  leisure  to  prepare  an  address  suitable  to  the  occasion." 


Benjamin  Gratz  Brown  (Class  of  1847),  Born,  1826;  Died,  1885. 

Brown  came  to  Yale  from  Transylvania  University.  He  was  conspicuous 
as  a  writer  while  in  college,  and  was  one  of  the  editors  of  the  "Lit."  He  was 
of  good  Southern  stock,  his  family  having  been  prominent  in  the  public  life 
both  of  Virginia  and  Kentucky.  He  settled  in  Missouri,  where  he  attained 
prominence  as  a  lawyer,  and  as  an  earnest  anti-slavery  advocate.  As  editor 
of  the  Missouri  Democrat,  a  strong  free-soil  paper,  he  was  the  object  of  bitter 
attack,  and  showed  much  courage  in  enforcing  his  convictions.  In  1857,  he 
came  within  five  hundred  votes  of  election  as  Governor,  as  free-soil  candidate, 
while  in  1871  he  was  elected  to  the  same  position  by  a  majority  of  forty 

11  Fielder,  Life  and  Times  of  Joseph  E.  Brown,  p.  98, 

12  Ibid.,  p.  572.         13  Ibid.,  pp.  531-559.        i*  Ibid.,  p.  507.        is  Ibid.,  p.  355. 

[225] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

thousand.  He  was  one  of  General  Lyon's  most  effective  supporters  in  saving 
his  state  to  the  Union,  and  commanded  troops  on  various  occasions  during  the 
war.  He  was  in  the  United  States  Senate  from  1863  to  1867,  and  lent  his 
powerful  aid  to  the  passage  of  Missouri's  emancipation  ordinance.  In  1872, 
he  was  the  defeated  candidate  for  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  on  the 
ticket  with  Horace  Greeley.  He  and  Cassius  Marcellus  Clay  (q.v.)  may  be 
taken  as  representatives  of  that  small  group  of  men  inheriting  Southern 
traditions,  who  fearlessly  gave  the  government  their  aid  in  maintaining  the 
Union  and  in  putting  an  end  to  slavery. 

In  this  letter,  Brown,  as  a  Yale  undergraduate,  writes  to  a  Kentucky 
friend:  "I  have  been  here,  now  some  eight  months — and  flatter  myself  that 
my  time  has  not  been  entirely  wasted —  ....  If  you  can  find  out  any 
Kentuckian  who  has  his  own  interest  at  heart  and  does  not  object  to  rising 
at  six  o'clock  of  a  cold  winter's  morning,  you  will  confer  a  great  favor  upon 
myself  by  sending  him  on  immediately — " 

In  a  speech  at  the  first  formal  dinner  of  the  Yale  Alumni  Association  of 
St.  Louis,  he  made  this  fine  reference  to  the  part  which  the  University  had 
played  in  his  education : 

....  its  primary  virtue,  so  far  as  I  can  now  judge  in  casting  back  over  the 
past,  was  that  with  its  many  high  advantages  of  learning,  with  its  rare  and  ripe 
scholarship,  with  its  pure  minded  Christian  control,  its  vast  power  over  the  mental 
training  of  the  student,  was  exerted  to  develop  an  individual  independence  of  thought 

and  inquiry,  and  not  to  train  them  with  any  sectarian  or  political  faith It  was 

a  kind  of  over-soul  ....  as  much  potential  for  elevating  student  life,  as  the  actual 
courses  of  daily  instruction.^'' 

16  St.  Louis  newspaper  report,  December,  1870. 


[  226] 


CHAPTER  VIII 

LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS 

I.     THE  UNIVERSITY'S  CONTRIBUTION  TO  LAW  AND 
JURISPRUDENCE 

The  recent  development  of  the  Harvard  Law  School — now 
considered  by  impartial  authorities  to  be  the  most  distinguished  school 
of  law  in  the  world — has  resulted  in  the  partial  overlooking  of  the 
contribution  made  by  other  institutions  to  American  Jurisprudence. 
Looked  at  from  the  standpoint  of  the  history  of  two  hundred  years 
it  is  doubtful  if  any  of  our  universities  has  surpassed  Yale  in  this 
respect.  Mr.  Thacher's  address  at  the  Bicentennial  should  be 
consulted  by  those  wishing  to  read  a  lawyer's  estimate  of  his  Alma 
Mater's  legal  attainments,  but  even  this  able  and  delightful  paper 
overlooks  some  important  factors. 

In  the  biographies  which  follow,  four  departments  of  the  law  are 
represented.  It  may  be  well  to  consider  these  separately  under  the 
work  of  the  writer,  the  teacher,  the  advocate,  and  the  judge,  leaving 
legislation  for  the  survey  of  statesmanship. 

The  writing  of  authoritative  works  on  law  is  one  of  the  most 
important  contributions  which  can  be  made  to  human  progress.  It 
tends  to  strengthen  those  rights  which  the  citizen  and  the  state  have 
acquired  as  a  result  of  centuries  of  the  best  efforts  of  legislators  and 
jurists,  reinforced  by  public  opinion.  Yale's  work  in  legal  author- 
ship of  national  significance  began  with  Zephaniah  Swift  (B.A. 
1778),  for  many  years  Chief  Justice  of  Connecticut.  In  1795-1796, 
he  published  A  System  of  the  Laws  of  the  State  of  Connecticut.  This 
was  "the  standard  treatise  on  the  laws  and  government"  of  the  state, 

[227] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

and  helped  to  give  his  utterances  "the  stamp  of  authority."^  Of  the 
revised  edition  of  this  work,  pubhshed  a  generation  later,  an  historian 
states  that  it  "was  long  used  to  a  considerable  extent  all  over  the 
United  States,  both  in  legal  instruction  and  as  an  authority  before 
the  courts."^ 

It  was  followed,  in  1826-1830,  by  Kent's  Commentaries  on 
American  Law,  the  work  of  a  graduate  of  the  Class  of  1781,  and 
called  by  Judge  Story  "the  first  judicial  classic."  This  and  the 
twenty-three  volumes  embodying  his  decisions  as  Judge  of  the 
Supreme  Court  and  Chancellor  of  New  York  State,  ably  reported 
by  WiUiam  Johnson  (B.A.  1788),  make  his  place  in  history  secure 
as  the  American  Blackstone.  It  was  of  the  author  of  Kent's  Decisions 
that  Mr.  Thacher  quoted  approvingly  the  statement  of  Judge  Dillon, 
that  he  was,  "more  than  anj^  other  person,  the  creator  of  the  equity 
system  of  this  country." 

At  least  three  other  Yale  legal  writers  besides  Kent  have  long 
maintained  a  national  reputation  in  some  field  of  the  law.  They  are: 
Theodore  Dwight  Woolsey  (B.A.  1820),  whose  Introduction  to  the 
Study  of  International  Law  appeared  first  in  1860,  Judah  Philip 
Benjamin  (Class  of  1827),  who  published  his  Treatise  on  the  Law 
of  Sale  of  Personal  Property  in  1868,  and  Francis  Wharton  (B.A. 
1839),  among  whose  important  legal  works  are  A  Treatise  on  the 
Criminal  Law  of  the  United  States,  1846,  and  Digest  of  International 
Law,  1886. 

The  scientific  teaching  of  law  in  America  began  with  the  Law 
School  in  Litchfield,  Connecticut,  of  which  a  Princeton  graduate, 
Judge  Reeve,  was  the  founder.  This  reached  the  height  of  its 
influence  under  James  Gould  (B.A.  1791),  who,  according  to  one 
of  the  foremost  living  authorities  on  legal  history,  was  "the  first  in 
point  of  time  of  American  lawyers  who  have  made  the  teaching  of 

1  Quotations    from    Simeon    E.    Baldwin's    sketch    of   James    Gould,    in    Great    American 
Lawyers,  p.  475. 

2  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  IV,  p.  63. 

[228] 


THE  UNIVERSITY'S  CONTRIBUTION  TO  LAW 

law  the  main  work  of  their  lives. "^  The  sketch  of  Gould  which  follows 
will  give  some  idea  of  his  influence  as  a  teacher. 

The  Yale  Law  School,  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  country,  was 
affiliated  to  the  College  in  1824.  It  was  in  large  measure  the  joint 
heir  of  the  Litchfield  School,  and  of  a  private  school  in  New  Haven 
successfully  conducted  for  almost  a  quarter  of  a  century  by  Seth 
Perkins  Staples  (B.A.  1797).  Degrees  were  first  conferred  in  1843, 
since  which  time  over  two  thousand  Bachelors  of  Laws  have  been 
graduated.  Before  the  granting  of  degrees  the  School  had  among  its 
regular  students  many  men  who  later  became  prominent  as  jurists, 
such  as  Theodore  W.  Dwight  (Class  of  1842) ,  the  real  founder  of  the 
Columbia  Law  School,  and  a  teacher  of  national  influence;  David 
Davis  (Class  of  1834),  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  who 
was  elected  President  of  the  Senate  on  Garfield's  assassination;  and 
Edward  John  Phelps  (Class  of  1841),  Kent  Professor  of  Law,  and 
Minister  to  England. 

The  School  is  abreast  of  the  best  principles  of  legal  education, 
requiring  membership  in  the  Senior  class  of  the  College,  or  an  academic 
degree  elsewhere,  for  admission,  and  combining  the  text  book  and 
case  systems,  with  main  emphasis  on  the  latter.  No  Department 
of  the  University  has  been  conducted  by  men  with  a  higher  sense  of 
responsibility  to  their  profession.  Among  them  have  been  four  whose 
length  of  service  and  earnest  work  deserve  special  mention:  Chief 
Justice  David  Daggett  (B.A.  1783),  Kent  Professor  of  Law  from 
1826  to  1848,  Governor  Henry  Dutton  (B.A.  1818),  who  held  a 
similar  position  from  1847  to  1869,  Dean  Francis  Wayland  (Hon. 
M.A.  1881),  head  of  the  School  from  1873  to  1903,  and  Chief  Justice 
Simeon  Eben  Baldwin  (B.A.  1861),  Professor  of  American 
Constitutional  and  Private  International  Law  for  forty  years, 
beginning  with  1872. 

The  University  has  graduated  a  succession  of  great  advocates — 
men  who  have  been  specially  successful  in  arguing  important  public 

3  Baldwin,  in  Oreat  American  Lawyers,  p.  455. 

[  229  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

causes  before  our  liighest  tribunals.  The  list  begins  with  William 
Smith  (B.A.  1719),  the  first  graduate  of  the  College  to  practice  law. 
He  became  the  recognized  leader  of  the  New  York  Bar.  From 
Smith's  day  to  the  present  the  line  of  distinguished  Yale  lawyers  has 
never  ceased.  One  of  the  last  deaths  to  be  recorded  in  the  Quin- 
quennial Catalogue  was  that  of  Lloyd  Bowers  (B.A.  1879),  whose 
brilliant  career  as  a  counsel  in  the  Middle  West,  and  as  Solicitor 
General  of  the  United  States,  was  about  to  be  rewarded  by  elevation 
to  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  when  he  was  cut  down  in  the 
prime  of  his  manhood.  Of  the  thousands  of  Yale  advocates  between 
the  elder  Smith  and  Bowers,  two  have  been  singled  out  for  special 
mention,  and  their  lives  given  at  length — William  M.  Evarts  (B.A. 
1837)  and  Jeremiah  Mason  (B.A.  1788),  the  first  one  of  the  most 
brilliant,  and  the  second  one  of  the  deepest  legal  minds  the  country 
has  produced.  And  yet  other  Yale  men  have  stood  almost  as  high 
at  the  Bar,  such  as  Jared  Ingersoll  (B.A.  1766)  and  Charles 
Chauncey  (B.A.  1792)  in  Pennsylvania;  Roger  Minott  Sherman 
(B.A.  1792)  and  Roger  Sherman  Baldwin  (B.A.  1811)  in 
Connecticut,  and  Daniel  Lord  (B.A.  1814)  and  Samuel  J.  Tilden 
(B.A.  1837)  in  New  York. 

To  the  work  of  the  Judiciary,  the  University  has  also  made 
marked  contributions.  The  list  includes  two  chief  justices  and  seven 
associate  justices  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court — a  full  bench,* 
about  forty  other  Federal  judges,  and  some  one  hundred  and  fifty 
judges  of  State  and  Territorial  Supreme  Courts,  representing  almost 
every  state  in  the  Union,  and  including  chief  justices  of  all  the  New 
England^  commonwealths  except  New  Hampshire,  and  of  New  York,* 

4  Oliver  Ellsworth  (two  years  at  Yale  in  Class  of  1766,  B.A.  Princeton),  Henry  Baldwin 
(B.A.  1797),  William  Strong  (B.A.  1828),  Morrison  R.  Waite  (B.A.  1837),  William  B.  Woods 
(B.A.  1845),  George  Shiras  (B.A.  1853),  David  J.  Brewer  (B.A.  1856),  Henry  B.  Brown 
(B.A.  1856).  Alexander  Wolcott  (B.A.  1778)  and  George  Edmund  Badger  (B.A.  1813)  were 
both  nominated  for  the  Supreme  Court,  but  failed  of  confirmation  by  the  Senate,  while  William 
Howard  Taft  (B.A.  1878)  is  known  to  have  declined  a  nomination.  David  Davis  completed 
his  studies  at  the  Yale  Law  School,  being  a  member  of  the  Class  of  1834. 

5  Maine,  John  A.  Peters  (B.A.  1842);  Vermont,  Enoch  Woodbridge  (B.A.  1774),  Israel 
Smith  (B.A.  1781),  Nathaniel  Chipman  (B.A.  1777);  Rhode  Island,  Joshua  Babcock  (B.A. 
1724),  Paul  Mumford  (B.A.  1754);  Connecticut,  Zephaniah  Swift  (B.A.  1778),  Stephen  Titus 
Hosmer  (B.A.  1782),  David  Daggett  (B.A.  1783),  Thomas  Scott  Williams  (B.A.  1794),  Samuel 

[230] 


THE  UNIVERSITY'S  CONTRIBUTION  TO  LAW 


Ohio/  Illinois/  Iowa/  Delaware/"  North  Carolina/'  South  Carolina/^ 
Georgia/^  Kentucky/*  Louisiana/^  Minnesota/^  New  Mexico/^ 
Hawaii/®  and  of  the  neighboring  British  Colonies  of  Canada/^  New 
Brunswick/"  and  Bermuda/' 

Nor  should  the  contributions  of  the  four  Yale  lawyers  who  helped 
to  frame  the  American  Constitution  be  forgotten/"  nor  the  fact  that 
Yale  has  had  four  Attorneys  General  of  the  United  States/^  nor  that 
it  was  a  graduate  who  drew  up  the  original  act  regulating  the  federal 
judicial  sj^stem/*  and  another  Yale  man  who  was  largely  responsible 
for  the  Judiciary  Act  of  1887/' 

Enough  has  been  said  by  way  of  introduction  to  the  biographies 
which  follow  to  show  that  the  University  has  rendered  important  aid 
to  the  legal  profession,  and  to  the  sacred  cause  of  American  Juris- 
prudence. This  is  in  keeping  with  its  public  service  ideal  expressed 
in  the  charter,  and  extolled  at  every  Commencement.  It  is  this  note 
which  gives  unity  to  the  most  representative  work  of  all  graduates  of 
the  University,  a  characteristic  conspicuously  exemplified  recently 
in  the  revision  of  the  laws  of  Hawaii  by  a  commission  of  four,  made 
up  entirely  of  Yale  graduates. 

Church  (B.A.  1803),  Henry  M.  Waite  (B.A.  1809),  Origen  Storrs  Seymour  (B.A.  1824), 
Thomas  B.  Butler  (M.D.  1828),  Simeon  E.  Baldwin  (B.A.  1861);  Massachusetts,  Marcus  P. 
Knowlton  (B.A.  1860). 

6  Richard  Morris    (B.A.   1748),  James   Kent    (B.A.   1781),  Alexander  S.  Johnson    (B.A. 
1835). 

7  Samuel  Huntington  (B.A.  1785),  Return  Jonathan  Meigs  (B.A.  1785),  Peter  Hitchcock 
(B.A.  1801). 

8  Benjamin  Magruder  (B.A.  1856). 

9  Ellas  H.  Williams  (B.A.  1840). 

10  John  M.  Clavton   (B.A.  1815). 

11  William  N.  H.  Smith  (B.A.  1834). 
"Abraham  Nott  (B.A.  1787). 

13  Joseph  E.  Brown  (LL.B.  1846). 

14  Thomas  A.  Marshall  (B.A.  1815). 

15  Thomas  Slidell  (B.A.  1825). 

16  Henry  Z.  Hayner  (B.A.  1826),  WiUlam  H.  Welch  (B.A.  1827),  Isaac  Atwater  (B.A. 
1844). 

17  James  H.  Shorter  (B.A.  1829),  William  J.  Mills  (LL.B.  1877). 

18  Albert  F.  Judd  (B.A.  1862),  Walter  F.  Frear  (B.A.  1885). 

19  William  Smith  (B.A.  1745). 
zoWilUam  Botsford  (B.A.  1792), 

21  James  C.  Esten  (B.A.  1792). 

22  See  Introduction  to  Statesmen. 

23Alphonso   Taft    (B.A.    1833),   William   M.    Evarts    (B.A.    1837),    Edwards    Pierrepont 
(B.A.  1837),  Wayne  MacVeagh  (B.A.  1853). 

24  William  Samuel  Johnson   (B.A.  1744). 

25  William  M.  Evarts  (B.A.  1837). 

[  231  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

William  Smith 
Class  of  1745 

Born,  June  18,  1728;  Died,  December  3,  1793 
Chief  Justice  of  Canada 

William  Smith,  senior  and  junior,  are  among  the  most  distin- 
guished names  in  connection  with  the  colonial  Bench  and  Bar.  The 
father  ( q.v. ) ,  the  first  Yale  man  to  make  the  law  his  profession,  was 
graduated  in  1719,  and  was  recognized  as  the  most  eloquent  advocate 
in  New  York,  and  as  an  eminent  judge  and  patriot.  The  son  was 
one  of  the  first  men  to  inherit  the  college  tradition.  He  graduated 
in  1745,  at  the  early  age  of  seventeen,  and  retained  in  after  life  an 
intimate  friendship  with  Yale  men  of  his  time,  including  William 
Livingston  (q.v.),  and  John  Morin  Scott  (B.A.  1746) — the  three 
forming  a  triumvirate  of  great  influence  in  New  York,  being  all 
prominent  Presbj^terians,  and  earnest  in  the  agitation  for  the  increase 
of  popular  rights. 

Of  his  college  life  few  details  are  preserved,  other  than  that  he 
was  a  high  student.  One  biographer  refers  to  him  as  "an  honor  man 
in  the  classics,  mathematics,  Hebrew,  and  medicine,"^  but  this  seems 
to  claim  too  much.  His  son  merely  states  that  "he  distinguished 
himself  so  much  by  his  learning  and  assiduity,  that  he  obtained  the 
degree  of  A.M.  at  a  very  early  age.""  The  quality  of  his  college  work 
is  shown  by  his  fondness  for  reading  Greek  philosophy,  and  bj^  the 
fact  that  he  was  well  versed  in  divinity  and  knew  some  Hebrew. 
Smith  and  his  twenty-six  classmates  had  to  defend  a  large  number  of 
difficult  theses  at  the  public  Commencement,  in  accordance  with  the 
custom  of  the  time.  There  were  one  hundred  and  six  of  these, 
divided  into  Theses  TechnologicfE,  Logics,  Grammaticae,  Rhetoricae, 
Mathematicge,  Physicse,  Metaphysic^e,  and  Ethic*.     Of  these,  five 

1  Hamm,  Famous  Families  of  New  York,  Vol.  II,  p.  144. 

2  Memoir  prefixed  to  Smith,  Ilistory  of  the  Late  Province  of  New  York.  pp.  ix,  x. 

[232] 


LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— WILLIAM  SMITH 

are  given  on  the  Commencement  broadside  in  italics,  with  a  hand 
pointing  at  them,  as  though  they  were  of  special  importance,  namely : 

Propositionis  impossibilis  nulla  datur  Idea 

Lux  non  est  visibilis 

Naturalis  est  Deo  potentia  agendi  contra  Perfectiones  ejus  morales 

Potestas  legislativa  est  unicuique  Societati  essentialis 

Res  in  se  indifferentes,  sunt  proprium  humance  Potestatis  Objectum 

His  Master's  degree  theme  was  the  affirmative  of  the  question.  An 
Fides  in  Messiam,  sub  omni  Religionis  Dispensatione,  ad  salutem  sit 
necessaria? 

He  studied  law  with  the  elder  Smith,  and  later  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  Livingston.  They  prepared  and  published  together,  from 
1752  to  1762,  the  first  collection  of  the  laws  of  the  Colony  of  New 
York.  During  the  same  period  he  found  time  to  write  The  History 
of  the  Province  of  New-York,  from  the  First  Discovery  to  the  Year 
M.DCC.XXIII.  This  was  printed  in  London.  The  author,  in 
a  modest  preface,  states  that  "It  deserves  not  the  name  of  history, 
though  for  brevity's  sake  I  have  given  it  that  title:  it  presents  only 
a  regular  thread  of  simple  facts."  He  would  have  been  astounded  if 
he  had  returned  to  New  York,  in  1911,  and  found  an  uncut  large  paper 
copy  of  the  first  edition  for  sale  for  $3,500  ? 

In  1767,  the  British  Ministry  appointed  him  a  member  of  the 
Governor's  Council,  in  place  of  his  father,  Governor  Moore  having 
urged  the  appointment  in  a  letter  saying  that  "he  is  now  at  the  head 
of  the  profession  of  the  law,  and  will  be  of  great  service  in  the  Council, 
as  his  opinions  may  always  be  depended  on,  not  only  from  his  knowl- 
edge of  the  law  but  his  integrity."*  He  was  an  earnest  advocate  of 
reform  in  political  administration,  and  in  1765  urged  upon  the  British 
premier  a  comprehensive  plan  of  colonial  union  and  home  rule. 
Finally,  finding  that  compromise  was  impossible,  and  believing  that 
to  take  up  arms  against  the  mother  country  would  be  treason,  he 
retired  to  his  countrj'^  place,  determined  to  remain  neutral,  although 


3  Catalogue  of  Dodd  &  Livingston. 

4  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  II,  p.  56. 


[  233  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

constantly  working  for  a  peaceful  settlement  of  difficulties.  He  seems 
to  have  retained  the  confidence  of  the  most  judicious  men  on  both 
sides,  although  the  more  radical  Whigs  believed  him  a  weathercock. 
When  the  bitter  struggle  was  at  its  height  he  could  say:  "Being  an 
enemy  to  no  man  I  have  a  pleasure  in  believing  no  man  to  be  mine."^ 
He  showed  the  same  spirit  when  brought  before  the  Provincial 
Convention  in  1777,  and  asked  whether  he  considered  himself  a  subject 
of  the  independent  State  of  New  York.  According  to  the  official 
minutes  he  said : 

That  he  does  not  consider  himself  discharged  from  his  oaths  of  fidelity  to  the 
CroMTi  of  Great  Britain.  He  refers  to  his  letter  of  the  4th  July  last,  in  answer  to 
a  summons  of  a  committee  of  the  Plonorable  Congress  for  an  elucidation  of  his 
political  sentiments.  He  has  strictly  conformed  to  his  parol  in  that  letter,  nor  will 
infringe  it.  He  then  conceived  a  separation  from  Great  Britain  could  not  be 
contended  for  with  safety,  to  the  rights,  liberties,  and  privileges  of  this  country; 
and  from  a  deep  concern  for  the  colonies,  he  prays  God  that  peace  may  be  restored 
by  a  happy,  safe,  and  generous  reconciliation,® 

The  Crown  appointed  him  Chief  Justice  of  the  province,  in  1780, 
a  year  after  his  service  on  the  Board  of  Commissioners  for  restoring 
peace  in  the  colonies.  As  he  accepted  the  position,  and  as  he  refused 
to  swear  allegiance  to  the  New  York  constitution,  he  must  be  classed 
as  a  loyalist.  The  New  York  Legislature,  in  1790,  removed  the 
disabilities  growing  out  of  his  unwillingness  to  unite  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary cause,  but  he  preferred  to  remain  in  Canada,  where  he  had 
gone  in  1786,  after  spending  a  few  years  in  England. 

Sketches  of  William  Smith  which  have  heretofore  appeared  in 
America  have  almost  completely  overlooked  his  career  in  Canada, 
merely  stating  that  as  Chief  Justice  he  introduced  many  reforms, 
including  the  appointment  of  constables.  An  investigation  of 
Canadian  sources  of  information  shows  him  to  have  been  an  historical 
figure  of  real  importance.  While  a  citizen  of  New  York  he  had 
proposed  a  plan  of  federation  which  he  now,  in  1789,  modified  to  meet 

s  Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol.  VI,  p.  426. 
6  Ibid.,  Vol.  VI.,  p.  425. 

[234] 


LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— WILLIAM  SMITH 

the  needs  of  all  the  remaining  British  possessions  in  North  America. 
He  clearly  foreshadowed  the  great  principle  of  Imperial  Federation, 
advocating  a  Colonial  Parliament  for  the  "united  interests  and  safety 
of  every  branch  of  the  empire."  There  were  to  be  two  Houses — a 
Council,  with  members  appointed  for  life,  and  an  Assembly,  with 
delegates  elected  by  the  various  provincial  assemblies.  The  Crown 
was  to  retain  the  veto  power.  English  historians  appreciate  the 
significance  of  these  original  and  statesmanlike  proposals.  Kingsford, 
in  his  standard  History  of  Canada,  says  that  "Eighty  years  were  to 
pass  before  this  view  was  to  prevail;  nevertheless  the  main  principles 
followed  in  the  establishment  of  the  present  constitution  of  the 
dominion  are  distinctly  recognizable."^  Similarly  the  biographer  of 
Lord  Dorchester,  the  British  Governor,  states  that  Smith's  views  put 
him  "nearly  a  century  before  his  time,"  and  showed  that  he  had  "the 
gift  of  foresight  in  no  ordinary  degree."^  Prior  to  his  appointment 
as  Chief  Justice,  he  had  served  as  Speaker  of  the  Legislative  Council 
in  the  first  Canadian  Parliament,  so  that,  through  his  work  in 
important  political  and  judicial  positions,  he  may  be  considered  one 
of  the  men  who  laid  the  constitutional  foundations  of  modern  Canada.^ 
The  Chief  Justice  was  a  man  of  noble  Christian  character.  He 
had  the  highest  ideals  of  the  ethics  of  his  profession. 

If  he  saw  a  cause  was  unjust,  he  would  state  that  it  was  so,  and  if  the  litigant 
parties  persisted  in  their  respective  views,  he  would  desire  them  to  seek  another 
counsellor;  if  he  found  a  cause  doubtful,  he  always  advised  his  client  to  compromise. 
When  differences  were  referred  to  him,  which  he  settled,  he  would  receive  no  reward, 
though  offered  it  by  both  parties,  considering  himself  in  these  cases  as  a  judge, 
observing  that  a  judge  ought  to  take  no  money. ^° 

An  adequate  biographjr  has  never  been  published.  The  best 
sketch  of  his  life  is  Delafield's  "William  Smith — the  Historian,"  in 
the  Magazine  of  American  History,  Volume  VI. 

7  Kingsford,  History  of  Canada,  Vol.  VII,  p.  312.  A  writer  in  the  Boston  Mirror  (1808- 
1809)  gave  his  reasons  for  thinking  that  Smith  also  had  some  influence  on  the  formation  of 
the  American  Constitution.    See  Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol.  VI,  p.  427. 

8  Bradley*  Lord  Dorchester,  pp.  261,  262. 

9  Morgan,  Sketches  of  Celebrated  Canadians,  p.  109. 

'^'^  Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol.  VI,  p.  418,  being  the  testimony  of  his  son. 

[235] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Sir, 

I  have  perused  the  Draft  of  the  Information  ag*.  Munroe  and  now 
return'd — The  facts  charged  I  believe  are  all  capable  of  Proof — but  methinks 
that  other  of  his  taking  obligation  to  defend  the  Indian  Title  had  best  be 
charged  also  not  only  because  perhaps  the  witnesses  to  it  may  be  had  when 
those  to  others  may  be  absent  or  if  had  may  speak  more  fully  to  it  but  because 
it  shows  a  resolute  Determination  to  run  all  Risks  to  maintain  the  Indian 
Claim — I  cannot  enable  you  with  precise  certainty  to  fill  up  the  Blanks  but  if 
you  raise  Questions  for  answers  and  send  your  clerk  to  M'"  Scott  who  has  the 
fullest  Information  being  possessed  of  the  Title  Deeds  &c  to  enable  him  to 
prepare  for  the  last  circuit  in  a  cause  then  to  be  tried  you  will  easily  obtain 
the  satisfaction  you  desire — and  I  could  wish  he  wear  [were]  also  desired  to 
cast  his  Eye  over  a  charge  so  unprecedented  as  this  is  and  that  too  of  so  much 
importance — I  am 

Sir  your  most  obed*.  serv*. 

W"*  Smith  Jr. 

This  undated  letter  on  legal  matters  was  written  about  1760  to 
John  Tabor  Kempe,  Esq.  It  is  endorsed  on  the  back,  "M^  Billy- 
Smiths  Letter  about  Monroos'  Information."  The  jNIr.  Scott  referred 
to  was  probably  his  college  friend,  John  Morin  Scott  (B.A.  1746), 
who  at  this  time  was  closely  associated  with  him  in  New  York  in 
political  matters. 


[236] 


LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— JAMES  KENT 


James  Kent 
Class  of  1781 

Born,  July  31,  1763;  Died,  December  12,  1847 
Author  of  Kent's  Commentaries  on  American  Law 

Chancellor  Kent  was  born  in  the  present  village  of  Doanesburg, 
New  York,  where  his  father.  Moss  Kent  (B.A.  1752),  was  a  lawyer. 
When  five  years  old  he  was  taken  into  the  family  of  his  grandfather, 
in  Danbury,  Connecticut,  where  his  main  preparation  for  college  was 
secured  from  Rev.  Ebenezer  Baldwin  (B.A.  1763) .  With  both  father 
and  grandfather  Yale  graduates,  young  Kent  did  not  long  hesitate 
as  to  where  to  go  for  his  education.  Yale,  in  common  with  the  other 
colleges  of  the  country,  was  then  at  low  ebb,  owing  to  the  difficulties 
of  conducting  an  educational  institution  at  a  time  when  the  country 
was  engaged  in  a  desperate  struggle  for  freedom.  In  his  Phi  Beta 
Kappa  address  at  the  University,  in  1831,  he  refers  to  the  conditions 
from  the  time  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  to  the  summer 
of  his  graduation,  saying  "that  the  College  was  not  open  and  in 
regular  exercise  more  than  half  the  usual  time."  "But,"  he  adds, 
"even  the  collegiate  terms,  broken  and  interrupted  as  they  were, 
proved  sufficient  to  give  the  students  a  taste  for  classical  learning  and 
philosophical  science,  and  to  teach  them  how  to  cultivate  their  own 
resources  in  the  various  pursuits  and  duties  of  life."  During  one  of 
these  interruptions,  Kent,  with  other  students  under  the  care  of 
Professor  Strong,  carried  on  his  work  at  Glastonbury. 

In  the  early  summer  of  his  Sophomore  year  occurred  the  famous 
invasion  of  New  Haven  by  Governor  Tryon.  A  college  mate  of  Kent 
has  left  this  account  of  the  affair : 

July,  1779,  Tryan  and  Traitor  Arnold  with  three  or  four  thousand  British 
troops  entered  N.  H.  Night  before  at  9  o'clock  an  alarm  was  fired,  again,  at  1, 
which  put  the  town  in  the  utmost  consternation.     That  night  and  next  day  exhibited 

[237] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

such  excruciating  distress  among  the  women  and  children  as  I  hope  and  pray  I  may 
never  again  witness. 

The  students  request  the  Selectmen  of  the  town  to  furnish  them  with  arms  to 
meet  the  enemy — but  are  not  able.     3  of  my  class  obtain  arms  and  go  out  with 

Capt.  Hillhouse  and  the  Guards After  being  one  night  in  town  they  cross 

next  morning  to  East  Haven.  While  in  town  they  burn  buildings,  destroy  house 
furniture,  merchants  goods  and  groceries,  and  do  all  the  damage  that  they  could 
well  do.     The  distress  they  made  I  will  not  attempt  to  describe.^ 

It  was  on  this  occasion  that  the  ex-President  of  the  College,  Dr. 
Daggett,  mounted  his  old  black  mare,  and  with  fowhng  piece  in  hand, 
started  out  towards  West  Haven  to  meet  the  enemy.  After  he  had 
indulged  in  some  shooting,  he  was  discovered  by  a  British  officer,  and 
this  conversation  is  reported  as  ensuing:  "What  are  you  doing  there, 
you  old  fool,  firing  on  His  Majesty's  troops?"  "Exercising  the  rights 
of  war,"  replied  the  dignified  gentleman.  "If  I  let  you  go  this  time, 
you  rascal,  will  you  ever  fire  again  on  the  troops  of  His  Majesty?" 
"Nothing  more  likely,"^  was  the  spirited  reply.  Dr.  Daggett,  goaded 
on  by  bayonets,  was  driven  before  them  into  the  town.  The  credit 
of  saving  the  college  buildings  from  destruction  was  claimed  by 
Edmund  Fanning  (q.v.),^  who  was  Colonel  of  a  Loyalist  Regiment, 
and  afterwards  Brigadier  General  in  the  British  Army.  Colonel 
Fanning,  WiUiam  Smith,  Jr.  (q.v.).  Bishop  Seabury  (q.v.),  and 
Judge  Thomas  Jones  (B.A.  1750)  were  the  best  known  of  the 
small  group  of  Yale  graduates  who  bitterly  opposed  the  war  for 
independence. 

Young  Kent  had  to  mortgage  his  future  earning  capacity  about 

1  J.  Maltby  (B.A.  1779).  Quoted  from  Yale  Alumni  Weekly,  January  5,  1912.  Chancellor 
Kent  has  preserved  an  account  of  these  events.  They  are  given  in  a  footnote  to  his  address 
delivered  at  New  Haven,  before  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Societj'  (pp.  40-41).  "I  was  at  New 
Haven,  and  saw  the  British  troops  in  the  act  of  landing  at  West  Haven,  early  on  the  morning 

of  the  5th  July,   1779 By  their  prompt  co-operation  with  the  militia   and   volunteers 

(among  whom  may  be  included  the  former  President  Daggett,  who  fought,  was  wounded, 
taken  prisoner,  and  maltreated,)  the  British  troops  were  compelled  to  take  a  circuitous  route 
of  nine  miles  before  they  could  enter  and  plunder  the  town.  The  next  day  I  went  from  the 
country  north  of  New  Haven  to  Green's  Farms,  a  village  west  of  Fairfield,  and  slept  under 

my   father's   roof It   is   no   wonder  if   I   should   feel,   even   at   this   remote   time,   some 

emotions  of  indignation  at  the  recollection  of  those  transactions." 

2  Quoted  in  Johnston,  Yale  in  the  American  Revolution,  p.  108. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  109.  For  complete  information  regarding  the  invasion,  see  a  pamphlet  by 
Captain  Charles  Hervey  Townshend  entitled  The  British  Invasion  of  New  Haven,  Conn.  Also 
see  Stiles,  Diary,  Vol.  II,  pp.  351-361. 

[238] 


LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— JAMES  KENT 

four  hundred  dollars  to  secure  his  education  in  such  stormy  times, 
and  it  took  him  two  or  three  years  to  work  off  the  indebtedness.  He 
studied  hard  as  an  undergraduate,  and  lived  simply,  almost  austerely, 
never,  so  he  tells  us,  having  joined  in  card-playing  or  dancing,*  and 
leaving  college  without  having  indulged  in  any  beverage  other  than 
water.^  But  we  are  not  to  imagine  that  he  was  a  prude,  or  a  man  of 
the  "grind"  type.  Far  from  it.  He  was  President  of  Linonia,  and 
entered  heartily  into  the  life  of  the  College  Square — the  word 
Campus,^  an  unattractive  name,  was  not  adopted  until  almost  a 
century  later — and,  in  spite  of  his  strict  ideas  of  propriety,  acted 
in  a  Linonia  play  in  his  Senior  year.^  It  was  the  tragedy  of  Ximena, 
and  his  part  was  that  of  Alonzo.  He  occupied  a  room  in  Connecticut 
Hall,  northeast  corner,  fourth  story,  next  to  Lyceum,  and  known 
then  as  Number  4,  East.^  This  he  shared  with  his  classmate,  Elizur 
Wright.  His  own  memoranda  show  that  he  was  industrious  and 
ambitious,  and  that  he  learned  easily.  He  observed  carefully  the 
regulations  of  the  authorities,  and  left  the  academic  community 
"clothed  with  college  honors."^  Some  of  these  may  still  be  traced. 
He  delivered  the  Cliosophic  Oration  at  the  time  of  the  final 
examinations,  then  considered  the  most  honorable  of  appointments. 
At  the  Commencement  which  followed — the  first  to  be  held  in  public 
for  seven  years — a  Forensic  Disputation  was  held  on  "Whether  the 
Literature  of  the  Antients  excelled  that  of  the  Moderns."  Kent  and 
his  classmate,  Gridley,  supported  the  affirmative.  It  is  clear  that 
he  was  considered  a  man  of  ability,  and  that  he  was  especially  known 
for  his  breadth  of  reading.    Of  his  standing  and  studies  he  says : 

I  stood  as  well  as  any  of  my  class,  but  the  test  of  scholarship  at  that  day  was 
contemptible.    I  was  only  a  very  inferior  classical  scholar,  and  we  were  not  required, 

4  The  coming  of  a  dancing  master  to  New  Haven  was  the  cause  of  much  scandal,  but 
President  Stiles  permitted  the  students  to  take  lessons.  See  Stiles,  Diary  for  1782,  Vol.  II, 
pp.  10,  11. 

5  Memoirs  and  Letters  of  James  Kent,  p.  17. 

6  See  "Campus"  in  College  Words  and  Phrases.  It  was  in  early  use  in  Princeton  and  in 
the  Ohio  colleges.     It  was  not  used  at  Yale  until  1871-1872. 

7  Kingsley,  Yale  College,  Vol.  I,  p.  313. 

8  Stiles,  Diary,  Vol.  11,  p.  542. 

9  Memoirs  and  Letters  of  James  Kent,  p.  8. 

[239] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

and  I  had  never  looked  into  any  Greek  book  but  the  New  Testament.  My  favorite 
studies  were  geography^  history,  poetry,  belles  lettres,  etc.  When  the  college  was 
broken  up  and  dispersed  in  July,  1779,  by  the  British,  I  retired  to  a  country  village, 
and,  finding  Blackstone's  Commentaries,  I  read  the  four  volumes.  Parts  of  the 
work  struck  my  taste,  and  the  work  inspired  me,  at  the  age  of  15,  with  awe,  and 
I  fondly  determined  to  be  a  lawyer.^" 

His  classmate,  Hon.  Simeon  Baldwin,  is  authority  for  the  statement 
that  Kent  "left  college  universally  beloved  by  his  class  and  ranked 
as  a  scholar  among  the  first.""  When  he  went  up  for  his  Master's 
degree,  three  years  later,  he  took  the  affirmative  of  the  question, 
An  Potestates  Congressus,  salvci  Kei  publicce  Salute,  amijlificari 
possint.  That  his  own  feeling  towards  his  Alma  Mater  was  of  the 
friendliest  was  shown  in  many  ways.  Here  is  part  of  a  letter  to 
Baldwin  as  Sexennial  approached: 

Commencement  I  recollect  is  at  hand,  in  which  you  are  going  to  recall  some 
of  your  old  sensations  and  probably  embrace  some  of  your  old  friends.  Who  can 
tell  my  wishes  that  I  was  to  be  of  the  number?  The  thought  of  that  scene  awakens 
most  deeply  my  friendly  sentiments.  You  and  one  or  two  more  recur  to  me  with 
a  tenderness  that  almost  unmans  me.  I  love  you  most  sincerely  and  my  breast 
refutes  the  system  that  makes  self-love  the  foundations  of  morals. ^^ 

Again  in  1813  he  records  a  visit  to  New  Haven,  and  enters  in  his 
journal  these  thoughts: 

Here  I  enjoyed  for  the  better  part  of  two  days  the  luxury  of  retracing  the 
footsteps  and  recalling  the  images  of  the  years  of  my  collegiate  life.  Here  I  had 
passed  4  years  of  innocence  and  simplicity  and  sanguine  hopes  of  youth,  and  I 
eagerly  dwelt  with  fond  and  tender  and  melancholy  recollections  on  every  spot 
consecrated  by  my  youthful  sports  and  tread.  I  was  chastened  into  sober  reflections 
under  the  consideration  that  it  was  thirty-two  years  since  I  left  those  delightful 
abodes  of  the  Muses ^^ 

The  greatest  evidence  of  Kent's  devotion  to  Yale  was  given  by 
his  visit  to  New  Haven  to  deliver  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  address,  after 
he  had  attained  his  fame.  The  entry  in  his  journal  for  Tuesday, 
September  13,  1831,  is  worth  quoting  in  full: 

A   fine   day.      I   arose   early   and   walked   around   the   Town   and   it   appeared 

lo/btd.,  p.  18. 

ii/6id.,  p.  11. 

12  Coxe,  Chancellor  Kent  at  Yale,  p.  21. 

18  Ibid.,  p.  34. 

[240] 


Ja.mks   Kknt 

Class  of    ITMI 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

and  I  had  never  looked  into  any  Greek  book  but  the  New  Testament.  My  favorite 
studies  were  geography,  history,  poetry,  belles  lettres,  etc.  When  the  college  was 
broken  up  and  dispersed  in  July,  1779,  by  the  British,  I  retired  to  a  country  village, 
and,  finding  Blackstone's  Commentaries,  I  read  the  four  volumes.  Parts  of  the 
work  struck  my  taste,  and  the  work  inspired  me,  at  the  age  of  15,  with  awe,  and 
I  fondly  determined  to  be  a  lawyer.^" 

His  classmate,  Hon.  Simeon  Baldwin,  is  authority  for  the  statement 
that  Kent  "left  college  universally  beloved  by  his  class  and  ranked 
as  a  scholar  among  the  first.""  When  he  went  up  for  his  JNIaster's 
degree,  three  years  later,  he  took  the  affirmative  of  the  question, 
An  Potestates  Congressus,  salvd  Rei  puhlicce  Salute,  amylificari 
possint.  That  his  own  feeling  towards  his  Alma  Mater  was  of  the 
friendliest  was  shown  in  many  ways.  Here  is  part  of  a  letter  to 
Baldwin  as  Sexennial  approached: 

Commencement  I  recollect  is  at  hand,  in  which  you  are  going  to  recall  some 
of  your  old  sensations  and  probably  embrace  some  of  your  old  friends.  Who  can 
tell  my  wishes  that  I  was  to  be  of  the  number  ?  The  thought  of  that  scene  awakens 
most  deeply  my  friendly  sentiments.  You  and  one  or  two  more  recur  to  me  with 
a  tenderness  that  almost  unmans  me.  I  love  you  most  sincerely  and  my  breast 
refutes  the  system  that  makes  self-love  the  foundations  of  morals.^^ 

Again  in  1813  he  records  a  visit  to  New  Haven,  and  enters  in  his 
journal  these  thoughts: 

Here  I  enjoyed  for  the  better  part  of  two  days  the  luxury  of  retracing  the 
footsteps  and  recalling  the  images  of  the  years  of  my  collegiate  life.  Here  I  had 
passed  4  years  of  innocence  and  simplicity  and  sanguine  hopes  of  youth,  and  I 
eagerly  dwelt  with  fond  and  tender  and  melancholy  recollections  on  every  spot 
consecrated  by  my  youthful  sports  and  tread.  I  was  chastened  into  sober  reflections 
under  the  consideration  that  it  was  thirty-two  years  since  I  left  those  delightful 
abodes  of  the  Muses ^^ 

The  greatest  evidence  of  Kent's  devotion  to  Yale  was  given  by 
his  visit  to  New  Haven  to  deliver  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  address,  after 
he  had  attained  his  fame.  The  entry  in  his  journal  for  Tuesday, 
September  13,  1831,  is  worth  quoting  in  full: 

A  fine  day.     I   arose  early  and  walked  around  the  Town  and  it  appeared 

10  Ibid.,  p.  18. 

11 /6id.,  p.  11.  Tzayl  <!3i/:aL 

12  Coxe,  Chancellor  Kent  at  Yale,  p.  21. 

18 /6id.,  p.  34.  1 8^1    ^o   g,^j3 

[240] 


LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— JAMES  KENT 

enchanting.  It  is  a  large  and  elegantly  built  Town  in  large  squares  and  adorned 
with  thick  and  lofty  trees,  being  elms  and  sycamores.     It  is  rus  in  urbe. 

At  11  a.m.  I  attended  the  meeting  of  the  Ph.B.K.  in  the  3d  story  of  the  old 
chapel.  R.  M.  Sherman,  Esq.,  was  President.  There  I  saw  Ed.  Everett  and  a 
crowd  of  the  civilians  and  clergy  and  Professors.  The  question  was  on  abolishing 
the  secrets  of  the  Society.  Professor  Silliman,  Doctor  Ives,  Revd.  Mr.  Robbins, 
the  Revd.  Mr.  Bacon  of  the  1st  Presbyterian  Congregation  &  Judge  Daggett  spoke. 
The  rule  of  secrecy  was  abolished  with  acclamation.^*  We  then  marched  in 
procession  to  the  North  Church  on  the  Green  which  I  found  full  of  Ladies  and 
Gentlemen.  The  President  of  the  Society  and  the  chaplain  and  I  ascended  the 
pulpit  and  after  a  short  prayer  I  delivered  my  address.  It  consumed  an  hour  and 
12  minutes.  We  then  went  and  dined  at  the  Franklin  House  which  is  a  superb 
Establishment.  We  then  went  to  the  College  Lyceum  and  there  was  a  large  and 
general  meeting  of  the  Alumni  of  Yale  College  and  I  presided.  The  object  was 
upon  raising  $100,000^^  by  subscription,  the  sums  payable  in  4  annual  instalments, 
the  first  to  be  paid  on  1  Jan'y.  1832.  President  Day,  Professor  Silliman,  the 
Minister  of  the  1st  Congregation,  Mr.  Pitkin,  Lucius  C.  Duncan,  Esq.  of  N.  Orleans, 
La.,  spoke.     (I  subscribed  $400.)^® 

The  Chancellor's  address,  preserved  in  manuscript  in  the  Yale 
Library,  is  an  important  one.  As  one  reads  it,  and  the  other  Orations 
and  Poems  delivered  annually  before  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society 
from  1787  to  1871,^^  a  feeling  of  regret  cannot  be  withheld  that  this 
good  old  custom,  which  would  seem  to  be  in  the  interest  of  scholar- 
ship and  of  literature,  should  have  been  allowed  to  disappear  at  Yale. 
Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  Chancellor  Kent,  Edward  Everett,  William 
H.  Seward,  and  Edward  Rowland  Sill  were  among  those  who 
honored  the  occasion  in  those  days.  The  closing  words  of  Kent's 
Oration  have  the  melodious  sound  of  the  oratory  of  the  old  school: 
"It  must  be  the  wish  of  all  the  true  sons  of  this  venerable  universit}^ 

14  The  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society  was  publicly  attacked  for  its  secrecy  as  early  as  1798. 
See  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  V,  p.  316, 

15  The  successful  carrying  out  of  this  "Centum  Milia"  fund  project  was  of  much  signifi- 
cance. It  was  the  first  time  that  the  alumni  had  been  systematically  canvassed.  Three- 
fourths  of  the  subscriptions  were  in  sums  of  $100  or  less.  The  movement  was  the  precursor 
of  the  Woolsey  Fund  of  $168,000  raised  from  1871  to  1873,  of  the  Alumni  University  Fund 
started  in  1890,  which  in  its  first  twenty  years  added  $454,000  to  the  principal  of  University 
funds  in  addition  to  making  large  anniud  gifts  to  income,  of  the  Bicentennial  Fund  of  about 
a  million  and  a  half  (used  mainly  to  erect  Woolsey  Hall  and  the  adjoining  buildings),  of  the 
University  Endowment  and  Extension  Fund  of  over  three  million  dollars,  raised  mainly  in 
1906  and  1907,  and  of  the  recent  Wright  Memorial  Fund  of  over  $300,000,  for  the  erection  of 
Wright  Hall. 

10  Coxe,  Chancellor  Kent  at  Yale,  p.  30. 

17  See  list  in  Kingsley,  Yale  College,  Vol.  I,  p.  327. 

[241  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

that  it  may  fulfill  its  high  purpose,  and  continue  to  flourish  in  health 
and  vigor,  with  expanding  views,  and  increasing  luster,  down  to  the 
latest  posterity.'"*  He  deeply  enjoyed  this  visit  to  his  old  college. 
Probably  to  him  its  crowning  joy  was  the  fiftieth  reunion  of  his  class, 
at  which  two-thirds  of  the  survivors  were  present — a  record  of  which 
1781  might  well  be  proud. 

The  Chancellor's  feelings  of  devotion  to  his  Alma  Mater  which 
came  to  the  front  at  this  visit  are  thus  summed  up  in  a  sentence  from 
the  address  just  quoted: 

Who  indeed  can  resist  the  feelings  which  consecrate  the  place  where  he  was 
born,  the  ground  where  his  ancestors  sleep,  the  hills  and  haunts  lightly  trodden  in 
the  vehemence  of  youth,  and  above  all,  where  stand  the  classic  halls  in  which  early 
friendships  were  formed  and  the  young  mind  was  taught  to  expand  and  admire ! 

Here  is  a  quotation  emphasizing  the  same  point  taken  from  a  letter 
written  by  his  son  and  read  at  the  Centennial  of  the  Linonian  Society: 
"When  an  old  gray-headed  man,  he  would  converse  with  sensibility 
and  delight  of  the  studies  and  associates  of  his  youth  in  your  academic 
retreat;  and  his  almost  romantic  affection  for  the  College  was 
extinguished  only  with  his  life.'"^ 

We  must  return  to  the  years  immediately  after  graduation  when 
he  was  a  student  of  law  and  a  careful  reader  of  Hume,  Smollett,  Hale, 
Blackstone,  and  other  authorities  on  the  history  and  jurisprudence 
of  England.  His  legal  training  was  in  a  law  office  in  Poughkeepsie, 
where  he  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  and  practiced  for  several  years. 
He  served  in  the  General  Assembly  for  three  terms,  being  elected 
as  a  Federalist.  Here  his  powers  of  leadership  were  developed,  and 
he  gained  so  much  reputation  by  his  arguments  in  debate  before  the 
legislature,  and  in  his  communications  to  the  public  press,  that  he 
was  elected,  in  1793,  to  the  newly  established  professorship  of  law 
in  Columbia  College.  After  a  few  years  of  teaching,  in  which  his 
private  practice  was  continued,  and  after  serving  as  Master  in 
Chancery  and  Recorder,  he  was  appointed  Judge  of  the  Supreme 

18  Kent,  Address  delivered  at  Neiv  Haven,  before  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  p.  48. 

19  Evarts,  An  Oration  ....  before  the  Linonian  Society,  1853,  p.  80. 

[242] 


LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— JAMES  KENT 

Court  of  New  York  State,  of  which  he  later  became  Chief  Justice. 
In  1814<  he  was  transferred  to  the  Court  of  Chancery,  where  he  served 
as  Chancellor  for  a  decade,  until  he  had  reached  the  retiring  age 
required  by  statute.  Then  he  removed  to  New  York,  resuming  both 
private  practice  and  his  professorship. 

So  much  for  the  bare  outline  of  facts  and  dates,  but  what  of  their 
significance?  During  this  period  Chancellor  Kent,  through  his 
decisions  and  his  Commentaries  on  American  Law  (published  from 
1826  to  1830),  was  laying  the  foundations  of  a  national  system  of 
jurisprudence,  made  necessary  hy  the  separation  from  the  mother 
country.  This  achievement  was  due  to  his  profound  knowledge  of 
the  principles  of  law  inherited  by  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
to  his  thorough  study  of  the  Constitution,  to  his  keen  and  judicial 
mind  and  phenomenal  memory,  to  his  mastery  of  a  clear  and  noble 
style,  developed  from  reading  the  ancient  and  modern  classics,  and 
to  the  fact  that  he  had  in  his  fellow  Yalensian,  William  Johnson 
(B.A.  1788),  an  ideal  court  reporter.^"  As  a  result  Kent's  decisions 
were  quoted  in  every  state.  His  position  was  as  unique  as  that  of 
Blackstone  in  England.  His  authority  as  an  interpreter  of  law  was 
almost  unchallenged.  That  he  realized  this  is  shown  by  a  letter 
regarding  the  success  of  his  judicial  work,  which  is  valuable  as  an 
autobiographic  record: 

When  I  came  to  the  Bench  there  were  no  reports  of  State  precedents.  The 
opinions  from  the  Bench  were  delivered  ore  terms.  We  had  no  law  of  our  own,  and 
nobody  knew  what  it  was.  I  first  introduced  a  thorough  examination  of  cases  and 
written  opinions.  In  January,  1799,  the  second  case  reported  in  first  Johnson's 
cases,  of  Ludlow  v.  Dale,  is  a  sample  of  the  earliest.  The  judges,  when  we  met,  all 
assumed  that  foreign  sentences  were  only  good  prima  facie.  I  presented  and  read 
my  written  opinion  that  they  were  conclusive,  and  they  all  gave  up  to  me,  and  so 
I  read  it  in  court  as  it  stands.  This  was  the  commencement  of  a  new  plan,  and 
then  was  laid  the  first  stone  in  the  subsequently  erected  temple  of  our  jurisprudence. 

Between  that  time  and  1804  I  rode  my  share  of  circuits,  attended  all  the  terms, 
and  was  never  absent,  and  was  always  ready  in  every  case  by  the  day.     I  read  in 

20  Another  well-known  Yale  court  reporter  was  Thomas  Day  (B.A.  1797),  who  was 
Reporter  of  the  Connecticut  Supreme  Ck)urt  for  almost  half  a  century,  and  also  edited 
important  legal  works. 

[243] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

that  time  Valin  and  Emerigon,  and  completely  abridged  the  latter,  and  made 
copious  digests  of  all  the  English  law  reports  and  treatises  as  they  came  out.  I 
made  much  use  of  the  Corpus  Juris,  and  as  the  judges  (Livingston  excepted)  knew 
nothing  of  French  or  civil  law,  I  had  immense  advantage  over  them.  I  could 
generally  put  my  brethren  to  rout  and  carry  my  point  by  my  mysterious  wand  of 
French  and  civil  law.  The  judges  were  Republicans  and  very  kindly  disposed 
to  everything  that  was  French,  and  this  enabled  me,  without  exciting  any  alarm 
or  jealousy,  to  make  free  use  of  such  authorities  and  thereby  enrich  our  commercial 
law. 

I  gradually  acquired  preponderating  influence  with  my  brethren,  and  the 
volumes  in  Johnson,  after  I  became  Chief- Justice,  in  1804,  show  it.  The  first 
practice  was  for  each  judge  to  give  his  portion  of  opinions,  when  we  all  agreed,  but 
that  gradually  fell  off,  and,  for  the  last  two  or  three  years  before  I  left  the  Bench, 
I  gave  most  of  them.  I  remember  that  in  eighth  Johnson  all  the  opinions  for  one 
term  are  "per  curiam."  The  fact  is  I  wrote  them  all  and  proposed  that  course  to 
avoid  exciting  jealousy,  and  many  a  per  curiam  opinion  was  so  inserted  for  that 
reason. ^^ 

A  letter  from  a  representative  American  lawyer  and  statesman 

will  fairly  indicate  the  significance  of  the  services  which  make  Kent 

rank  with  Story  and  Marshall  among  the  founders  of  the  American 

system  of  jurisprudence.    Charles  Sumner  wrote  to  him  in  1836: 

I  feel  happy  in  the  opportunity  afforded  by  this  letter  of  expressing  to  you 
my  lively  sense  of  the  deep  debt  which  every  American  lawyer  owes  to  you,  and 
no  one  feels  it  more  than  myself,  for  the  light  which  you  have  cast  over  the  dark 
and  rugged  paths  of  legal  study:  first,  by  the  large  and  splendid  series  of  judicial 
opinions,  in  which  justice  was  so  nobly  administered  and  the  law  so  steadfastly 
advanced;  and  second,  by  your  admirable  Commentaries,  which  have  now  become 
the  manual  of  the  practitioner,  as  they  have  since  their  first  publication  been  the 
institute  of  the  students.  Not  a  day  passes  without  reminding  me  of  the  value  of 
your  labors,  and  without  strengthening  in  me  those  feelings  of  attachment  as  towards 
a  cherished  instructor.^^ 

The  contemporaneous  judgment  of  Sumner  could  be  repeated  today.^' 
An  evidence  of  this  is  that  of  the  sixteen  "Immortals"  selected  for 
bronze  figures  in  the  rotunda  of  the  Library  of  Congress,  Kent  is 
included,  the  only  other  Americans  being  Robert  Fulton  and  Joseph 
Henry. 

Not  onlj^  did  his  distinction  as  a  jurist  bring  him  the  highest 

2''^  Memoirs  and  Letters  of  James  Kent,  p.  117. 

22  Ibid.,  p.  203. 

23  Cf.  Coxe,  Chancellor  Kent  at  Yale,  p.  52. 

[244  1 


LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— JAMES  KENT 

honors  from  the  colleges,  including  the  Doctorate  of  Laws  from 
Harvard,  Columbia,  Dartmouth,  and  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania, but  his  nobility  of  character,  purity,  and  dignity  of  life, 
made  him  loved  and  respected  by  all  who  knew  him.  The  Kent 
Professorship  of  Law,  the  Kent  Club  in  the  Law  School,  and  a 
portrait  commemorate  the  great  Chancellor  at  his  University. 

William  Kent's  Memoirs  and  Letters  of  James  Kent,  LL.D.,  is 
the  standard  biography.  An  interesting  paper  written  for  the  Yale 
Law  Journal  by  Hon.  Macgrane  Coxe  (B.A.  1879)  was  privately 
printed,  in  1909,  under  the  title  of  Chancellor  Kent  at  Yale,  1777- 
1781. 


New  York  September  7,  1834) 
Dear  Sir 

I  have  read  with  great  Pleasure  &  Profit  the  first  Volume  of  your  "History 
of  the  United  States,"  &  though  my  opinion  may  not  be  of  much  Value,  owing 
to  my  very  imperfect  acquaintance  with  the  original  materials  requisite  to 
form  a  true  History  of  this  Country,  I  beg  leave  however  to  state,  that  I 
have  studied  your  Volume  thoroughly,  &  arise  from  it  deeply  impressed  with 
its  admirable  qualities.  It  is  distinguished  for  trustworthiness,  fidelity  & 
accuracy.  You  display  as  Gibbon  does,  familiarity  with  original  materials 
&  profound  &  scrupulous  research.  There  is  no  American  work  of  the  kind 
to  be  compared  to  it.  Dr.  Holmes'  Annals,  &  Story  Commentaries  on  the 
Constitution  of  the  U  States  are  works  of  the  same  Stamp  for  fidelity  & 
accuracy.  I  also  admire  your  Style.  It  shows  Tacitus's  Genius  in  compre- 
hensiveness, Brevity,  Energy  &  Eloquence.  You  have  exemplified  the  first 
great  Duty  of  the  Historian,  integros  accedere  fontes  atque  haurire.  I  examine 
all  your  notes,  but  complain  sometimes  that  they  pre-suppose  in  the  reader 
(what  he  has  not)  a  familiar  knowledge  of  the  materials  of  the  History.  I 
do  full  Justice  to  your  Intensity  of  Reflection  &  feeling,  &  your  liberal  & 
impartial  Views.  I  do  not  believe  quite  so  much  in  the  Claims  of  a  pure 
democracy,  as  I  think  it  must  always  be  a  failure  in  all  prosperous  &  civilized 
&  commercial  Communities,  but  I  admit  it  to  be  a  delightful  Vision. 

I  hope  you  will,  my  dear  sir,  meet  with  ample  Encouragement,  &  have 
"Health,  leisure  &  Perseverance"  to  go  on  &  finish  your  great  work,  which  will 
confer  Immortality  on  your  Name,  &  elevate  your  Country 

Yours  very  respectfully 
M''.  Bancroft  James  Kent 

[245] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

This  letter  to  George  Bancroft  is  of  significance  because  Kent 
was  specially  interested  in  historical  studies,  being  President  of  the 
New  York  Historical  Society.  He  was  a  strong  Federalist,  having 
been  at  one  time,  in  his  early  career,  defeated  for  Congress  as  the 
representative  of  his  party.  A  suggestive  commentary  on  his  political 
faith  is  given  by  his  statement  in  the  letter  that  he  thinks  "a  pure 
democracy  ....  must  always  be  a  failure  in  aU  prosperous  & 
civilized  &  commercial  Communities." 


[246] 


LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— JEREMIAH  MASON 

» 

Jeremiah  Mason 
Class  of  1788 

Born,  April  27,  1768;  Died,  October  14,  1848 
Leader  of  the  New  England  Bar 

The  name  of  Jeremiah  Mason  is  not  a  familiar  one  to  most  people, 
but  to  those  who  have  made  a  study  of  legal  biography,  it  stands  for 
the  very  highest  attainments  at  the  Bar.  He  was  the  son  of  a 
Revolutionary  Colonel,  and  was  born  in  Lebanon,  Connecticut.  He 
was  prepared  for  college  at  the  well-known  local  school  of  Master 
Nathan  Tisdale.  Requirements  for  admission  were  not  very  high 
then,  the  classical  examination  being  confined  to  parts  of  Virgil  and 
of  Cicero's  Orations,  together  with  the  Gospels  in  Greek.  Mason 
has  left  an  account  of  his  entrance  upon  his  course  at  Yale  that  is 
interesting  in  view  of  the  reputation  which  he  later  made  as  a  lawyer. 
It  was  at  a  time  when  the  fagging  system  was  at  its  height : 

I  arrived  the  afternoon  of  the  first  day  of  the  term,  and  having  put  up  my 
horse  and  engaged  lodgings  for  the  night,  I,  towards  evening,  went  up  to  the 
college  to  see  the  splendor  of  my  future  residence.  While  standing  in  the  college 
yard  (as  the  inclosure  was  called),  a  man  booted  and  with  a  horsewhip  in  hand, 
approached  me  and  asked  if  I  was  a  Freshman.  I  answered,  "Yes,  sir."  "Take 
off  your  hat,  then,  when  in  the  presence  of  one  of  the  government  of  the  college." 
He  added,  "Go  and  ring  the  bell  for  prayers,"  and  passed  into  the  college  building. 
I  was  confused  by  this  harshness  and  went  immediately  to  what  I  supposed  to  be 
the  chapel.  The  door  of  the  belfry  was  open,  but  on  entering  I  could  find  no  bell 
rope.  I  looked  into  the  chapel,  nobody  was  there;  after  looking  again  for  the  bell 
rope  and  finding  none,  and  feeling  a  little  indignant  at  the  rude  treatment  I  had 
received,  I  left  the  chapel  and  returned  to  my  inn.  There  I  found  several  of  my 
classmates,  with  whom  I  soon  became  acquainted.  I  told  them  the  story  of  the 
treatment  I  had  received  and  of  my  apprehension  of  trouble  from  my  disobedience 
of  orders;  this  led  to  an  ardent  discussion  of  the  demerits  of  the  fagging  servitude 
to  which,  by  the  ancient  college  regulations,  the  Freshmen  were  subjected ^ 

It  turned  out  that  the  man  who  made  this  demand  was  a  tutor  who, 
the  following  day,  met  Mason  and  took  him  seriously  to  task  for 

1  For  this  and  other  details  of  his  college  life,  see  Memoir  and  Correspondence  of  Jeremiah 
Mason,  p.  7  and  following  pages. 

[247] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

failing  to  carry  out  his  orders.  Later  he  was  reheved  of  the  necessity 
of  general  fagging"  by  being  taken  into  the  room  of  the  senior  tutor. 
For  this  privilege  he  was  obliged  to  contribute  towards  furnishing  this 
officer's  study,  and  to  run  his  errands,  but  he  was  exempted  from 
acting  as  a  fag  for  the  upper  classmen  in  such  matters  as  carrying 
water  from  the  pump,  and  in  performing  other  menial  services.  The 
conditions  of  life  for  Freshmen  improved  somewhat  during  Mason's 
college  course.  In  his  Senior  year  they  gained  the  great  privilege 
of  being  allowed  to  wear  hats  after  the  January  vacation  !^ 

The  experience  with  Tutor  Channing  was  the  nearest  thing  to 
Faculty  discipline  which  Mason  underwent.     He  studied  faithfully. 

I  passed  through  college  with  good  success ;  my  standing  in  my  class  was  among 
the  first.  In  Latin  and  mathematics  I  was  inferior  to  none,  and  deeply  regret  my 
subsequent  neglect  of  those  studies.  In  Greek  I  pretty  thoroughly  mastered  the 
Greek  Testament,  the  only  book  required  to  be  studied,  and  in  which  we  were 
examined.  My  real  knowledge  in  that  language  was  slender,  and  is  now  almost 
entirely  lost.  I  excelled  in  forensic  disputations,  of  which  considerable  account 
was  then  made  in  the  college.  My  greatest  deficiency  was  in  the  English  language, 
which  I  impute  to  the  neglect  of  my  early  school  education.  Almost  no  pains  were 
taken  in  English  at  the  college  at  that  time. 

We  find  from  the  records  of  Phi  Beta  Kappa  that  Mason  and 
twelve  others  were  "approbated"  as  members,  July  5,  1787.  At 
the   next   meeting   the   society   "convened   in   beauteous   order   and 

inducted  the  above  named  gentlemen  into  the  Brotherhood 

Friendship  glowing  in  each  breast  caught  an  additional  ray  and 
appeared  in  her  most  lovely  robes :  mutual  engagements  were  ratif5^ed 
and  sealed  with  the  awful  solemnities  of  the  Oath;  and  sincere 
congratulations  flowed  from  the  tongue  while  the  hand  more 
emphatically  gave  the  fraternal  wellcoming  embrace."*  Comment  is 
unnecessary!  The  subjects  which  he  personally  debated  were  the 
following:  "Ought  females  to  share  in  civil  government?",  decided  in 
the  negative;  "Ought  the  Physicians  in  the  State  of  Connecticut  to 

2  This  system  continued  in  force  until  1804.  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  V,  pp.  131  and 
623. 

3  Stiles,  Diary,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  299. 

4  MS.  Records  of  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  July  10,  1787. 

[248] 


LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— JEREMIAH  MASON 

be  incorporated  into  a  society?",  decided  in  the  negative;  "Do  all  men 
descend  from  Adam?",  decided  in  affirmative;  "Has  the  Christian 
Religion  in  its  institution  &  progress  been  beneficial  to  the  temporal 
interests  of  mankind?",  no  record  of  decision.  Like  many  other 
famous  Yalensians  he  was  also  President  of  Linonia. 

An  interesting  contemporary  account  of  New  Haven^  and  of 
Yale  College,  written  towards  the  close  of  jNIason's  Junior  year,  is 
given  in  the  journal  of  Manasseh  Cutler  (q.v.).  He  speaks  highly 
of  the  President,  and  of  the  members  of  the  Faculty,  "who  are  truly 
literarj^  characters,"  refers  favorably  to  the  appearance  of  the  student 
body,  and  makes  these  comments  on  the  meager  scientific  and  literarj'^ 
equipment  of  the  institution: 

We  took  a  view  of  the  Library,  the  Philosophy  Chamber,  and  Cabinet.  The 
Library  is  small;  the  collection  consists  principally  of  rather  antiquated  authors. 
The  Philosophical  apparatus  is  still  less  valuable — an  air-pump,  tolerably  good; 
a  reflecting  telescope,  wholly  useless,  for  the  large  and  small  mirrors  are  covered 
with  rust,  occasioned  by  poking  in  greasy  fingers ;  a  microscope  of  the  compound 
kind,  but  very  ancient;  a  miserable  electrical  machine;  a  large  homely  orrery,  made 
by  one  of  the  students ;  a  hydrostatic  balance,  and  a  few  articles,  not  worth  naming. 
A  handsome  sum,  however,  is  now  being  collected  for  purchasing  a  complete 
Philosophical  apparatus.     The  Cabinet  is  a  good  collection,  but  very  badly  disposed.® 

In  Senior  year  his  class  was  instructed  by  President  Stiles,  whom 
he  respected  for  his  "admirable  powers  of  government,"  which,  how- 
ever, were  insufficient  to  prevent  occasional  serious  disorders,  one 
during  Mason's  course  rising  to  the  dignitj^  of  a  "rebellion."  It  was 
occasioned  by  undergraduate  disapproval  of  the  unusual  severity  of 
the  examinations!  Stiles'  instruction  was  mainly  in  ethics,  where 
Locke  was  considered  the  authority.  There  was  also  a  general  review 
of  the  work  of  the  previous  years,  and  some  instruction  in  Hebrew — 
the  President's  favorite  study.  As  there  was  only  one  prescribed 
recitation  a  day  for  Seniors,  there  was  much  time  for  general  reading 
or  elementary  professional  study,  so  Mason  began  his  preparation 

5  For  a  general  description  of  the  town  at  this  time  see  Professor  Dexter's  paper,  "New 
Haven  in  1784,"  Papers  of  the  New  Haven  Coloni/  Historical  Societif,  Vol.  IV,  p.  117. 

6  Life,  Journals  and  Correspondence  of  Manasseh  Cutler,  Vol.  I,  under  July  3,  1787. 

[249] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

for  the  Bar.  He  also  attended  trials  in  the  New  Haven  courts,  and 
was  greatly  interested  in  hearing  the  famous  advocates  of  the  day. 
He  tells  us  that  "the  admiration  excited  there  led  me  to  choose  the 
law  for  my  profession." 

My  college  life,  on  the  whole,  passed  pleasantly  and  with  tolerable  profit. 
At  the  Commencement,  when  I  was  graduated  (1788),  in  the  public  exercises  a 
part  in  the  forensic  disputation  was  assigned  to  me.  My  classmate,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Chapin,  was  my  opponent.  Our  question  was,  whether  capital  punishment  was,  in 
any  case,  lawful.  I  held  the  negative.  I  stole  the  most  of  my  argument  from  the 
treatise  of  the  Marquis  Beccaria,  then  little  known  in  this  country.  It  was  new, 
and  consequently  well  received  by  the  audience;  indeed,  its  novelty  excited  consid- 
erable notice.  I  was  flattered  and  much  gratified  by  being  told  that  my  perform- 
ance was  the  best  of  the  day.  In  the  course  of  a  long  and  active  life  I  recollect  no 
occasion  when  I  have  experienced  such  elevation  of  feeling. '^ 

His  formal  legal  training  was  secured  under  two  Yale  lawyers 
of  prominence:  Hon.  Simeon  Baldwin  (B.A.  1781)  of  New  Haven, 
and  General  Stephen  Rowe  Bradley  (B.A.  1775)  of  Vermont.  The 
former  became  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Connecticut,  the 
latter  held  a  similar  position  in  his  native  state,  and  represented  it 
in  the  United  States  Senate,  of  which  he  was  at  one  time  President 
pro  tempore.  After  practicing  in  small  towns  of  Vermont  and  New 
Hampshire,  JNIason  moved  to  Portsmouth,  so  as  to  broaden  his  oppor- 
tunities. He  made  that  town  his  home  until  his  removal,  in  1832, 
to  Boston,  where  he  soon  rose  to  undisputed  leadership  in  his 
profession.  During  this  early  period  he  had  served  as  a  Federalist 
in  the  United  States  Senate,  had  declined  the  Chief  Justiceship  of 
New  Hampshire,  had  been  elected  for  several  terms  to  the  State 
House  of  Representatives,  and  had  been  President  of  the  branch  of 
the  Bank  of  the  United  States  at  Portsmouth.  He  had  done  well  in 
these  positions,  but  it  is  not  from  them  that  he  derived  his  fame.  This 
rests  upon  no  office  that  he  held,  but  upon  his  brilliant  success  at  the 
Bar.  As  an  advocate  he  was  supreme.  Professor  Dexter,  writing 
in  1907,  saj^s  that  he  was  "probably  the  ablest  lawyer  that  ever 

7  Memoir  and  Correspondence  of  Jeremiah  Mason,  p.  12. 

[250] 


LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— JEREMIAH  MASON 

practiced  in  New  England."^  This  is  the  judgment  of  an  historical 
scholar  not  accustomed  to  deal  recklessly  in  superlatives.  One  of 
the  trials  in  which  he  rendered  a  conspicuous  public  service  was  the 
Dartmouth  College  case,  the  final  decision  of  which  in  favor  of  the 
Trustees  has  been  considered  the  strongest  bulwark  of  the  inviolable 
legal  right  of  duly  chartered  educational  and  philanthropic  institu- 
tions. The  winning  of  the  case  by  the  college  is  identified  in  the 
public  mind  with  the  eloquence  of  Daniel  Webster  before  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court,  but  the  main  features  of  the  argument  were 
worked  up  by  Mason  in  the  first  trial  before  the  Superior  Court  of 
New  Hampshire,  in  1817.^  The  impression  which  he  made  on  the 
ablest  of  his  contemporaries  in  this  and  other  cases  was  marked,  and 
was  shown  by  his  receiving  the  Doctorate  of  Laws  from  Bowdoin, 
Harvard,  and  Dartmouth.  But  more  convincing  than  these  are  the 
testimonies  of  Joseph  Story  and  of  Daniel  Webster.  Judge  Story, 
in  1838,  dedicated  to  him  his  commentary  on  Equity  Pleading,  in 
token  of  his  admiration  for  his  talents,  and  in  remembrance  of  "a 
friendship  which  commenced  with  my  first  entrance  among  the  Bar, 
in  which  you  were  then  the  acknowledged  leader."  The  opening 
words  of  the  note  of  inscription  are  worth  quoting : 

To  the  Honorable  Jeremiah  Mason,  LL.D., 

Sir, — I  esteem  it  a  great  privilege  to  have  the  opportunity  of  dedicating  this 
work  to  you.  Few  circumstances  in  my  life  could  be  more  grateful,  than  those 
which  enable  me  to  inscribe  on  the  pages,  which  contain  my  own  juridical  labors, 
the  memorials  of  my  private  friendships,  as  well  as  the  avowals  of  my  reverence 
for  the  great,  the  good,  and  the  wise.  Your  own  enviable  distinction,  so  long  held 
in  the  first  rank  of  the  profession,  and  supported  by  an  ability  and  depth  and 
variety  of  learning,  which  have  had  few  equals,  and  to  which  no  one  can  bear  a 
more  prompt  and  willing  testimony  than  myself,  would  alone  entitle  you  to  a  far 
higher  tribute,  than  any  I  can  bestow.  I  well  know  that  I  speak  but  the  common 
voice  of  the  profession  on  this  subject;  for  they  have  well  understood  the  vigor 
and  the  weight  of  that  lucid  argumentation,  which  has  spoken  in  language  for  the 
cause,  and  not  merely  for  its  ornament:  Neque  id  ipsum,  tam  leporis  causa,  quam 
ponderis ^° 

8  Dexter,  Tale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  IV,  p.  611. 

8  For  outline  of  his  legal  argument,  see  General  Catalogue  of  Dartmouth  College,  p.  37. 

10  Memoir  and  Correspondence  of  Jeremiah  Mason,  p.  418. 

[251] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Webster,  who  considered  competition  with  Mason  one  of  the  greatest 
factors  in  his  own  development,  bears  similar  testimony  in  his 
autobiography,  written  twenty  years  before  his  friend's  death : 

Indeed,  for  the  nine  years  I  lived  in  Portsmouth,  Mr.  Mason  and  myself,  in 
the  counties  where  we  both  practiced,  were  on  the  opposite  sides,  pretty  much  as  a 
matter  of  course.  He  has  been  of  infinite  advantage  to  me  not  only  by  his  unvarying 
friendship,  but  by  the  many  good  lessons  he  has  taught,  and  the  example  he  set  me, 
in  the  commencement  of  my  career.  If  there  be  in  the  country  a  stronger  intellect; 
if  there  be  a  mind  of  more  native  resources ;  if  there  be  a  vision  that  sees  quicker, 
or  sees  deeper  into  whatever  is  intricate,  or  whatsoever  is  profound,  I  must  confess  I 
have  not  known  it.  I  have  not  written  this  paragraph  without  considering  what 
it  implies.  I  look  to  that  individual  [Chief  Justice  Marshall]  who,  if  it  belong  to 
anybody,  is  entitled  to  be  the  exception.  But  I  deliberately  let  the  judgment  stand. 
That  that  individual  has  much  more  habit  of  regular  composition,  that  he  has  been 
disciplined  and  exercised  in  a  vastly  superior  school,  that  he  possesses  even  a  faculty 
of  illustration  more  various  and  more  easy,  I  think  may  be  admitted.  That  the 
original  reach  of  his  mind  is  greater,  that  its  grasp  is  stronger,  that  its  logic  is 
closer,  I  do  not  allow. ^^ 

These  tributes  have  to  do  with  Jeremiah  INIason's  extraordinary  gifts 
as  seen  from  the  standpoint  of  lawyers,  but  he  was  equally  respected 
by  laymen,  and  by  men  in  other  professions,  for  his  wisdom,  his 
character,  and  his  patriotism.  George  Ticknor,  the  historian,  in  a 
beautiful  letter  to  Mrs.  Mason,  after  her  husband's  death,  speaks 
of  liim  as  being  "trusted  ....  by  the  greatest  and  best  among  us, 
more  than  any  other  man  in  New  England."^"  He  was  a  country 
lawyer  of  undoubted  genius  who  rose  to  be  the  recognized  leader  of 
the  Bar  in  a  section  of  the  countrj^  noted  for  its  advocates.  It  seems 
unfortunate  that  the  name  of  one  so  gi*eat  and  so  good  should  be 
almost  unknown  two  generations  after  his  death,  except  to  legal  and 
historical  students.  But  it  is  part  of  a  University's  duty  to  keep  green 
the  memorj^  of  such  a  man,  that  it  may  serve  as  an  inspiration  to  the 
young  lawyers  of  the  future. 

His  bust  in  the  Law  School  shows  his  massive  proportions  of 
body  and  of  mind.    He  was  six  feet  and  six  inches  tall,  being,  as  his 

11  Ibid.,  p.  393,  quoted  from  Curtis,  Life  of  Webster,  p.  89. 

12  Ibid.,  p.  419. 

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LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— JEREMIAH  MASON 

colleague  in  the  Senate,  Henry  Clay,  said,  "a  giant  in  stature  and 
a  giant  in  mind."^^  A  "Life"  was  privately  printed  in  Cambridge,  in 
1873.    It  is  entitled  Memoir  and  Correspondence  of  Jeremiah  Mason. 


Washington  Feb.y  21.  1814 
Dear  Sir 

You  will  probably  have  anticipated  from  the  public  papers  all  the  intelli- 
gence in  my  power  to  communicate.  Opinions  here  on  the  subject  of  peace 
are  various.  Many  doubt  whether  our  government  really  wish  for  peace.  The 
retaining  of  their  power  is  unquestionably  their  chief  object.  If  they  see  no 
danger  of  loosing  that  they  will  feel  no  anxiety  to  terminate  the  war.  The 
distribution  of  the  vast  sums  of  money  now  expended  affords  innumerable 
opportunities  of  gratifying  &  enriching  their  friends  and  partizans.  Their 
great  difficulty  is  to  devise  ways  &  means  to  obtain  the  money  necessary  to 
carry  on  the  war  on  the  present  plan.  They  fear  they  shall  not  be  able  to 
obtain  the  immense  loans  constantly  required.  I  think  they  will  get  the  loans 
for  the  present  year  on  some  terms.  If  loans  after  this  year  are  required 
heavier  taxes  must  be  resorted  to.  This  would  endanger  their  popularity. 
They  know  they  have  lost  popularity  by  the  war  thus  far.  Should  this 
continue  they  will  I  think  try  to  make  peace  on  any  terms  which  would  afford 
a  good  prospect  of  preserving  their  popularity.  But  any  considerable  '^Itera- 
tion of  circumstances  or  even  of  popular  opinion  in  their  favour  would  change 
their  wishes. 

The  approaching  election  in  N.  Hampshire  is  deemed  to  be  of  more  than 
ordinary  importance.  If  we  loose  it  the  union  of  N.  England  will  be  destroyed. 
I  hope  all  justifiable  &  proper  measures  will  be  adopted  to  secure  a  favourable 
result. 

It  is  now  expected  Congress  will  rise  some  time  in  April.  I  hope  the 
session  will  not  be  protracted  beyond  that  time.  I  am  tired  with  being  here  & 
wish  to  be  at  home. 

Please  to  give  mj'^  affectionate  respects  to  Mrs.  Means  &  the  family. 

I  am  D^.  Sir  sincerely  yrs 

J.  Mason 
R.  Means  Esq^ 

This  letter  addressed  to  Colonel  Robert  Means,  Mrs.  Mason's 
father,  was  written  in  the  dark  days  of  the  War  of  1812.     The 

13  Fisher,  Life  of  Benjamin  Silliman,  Vol.  II,  p.  87. 

[253] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

previous  month  the  government  was  forced  to  offer  a  large  bounty 
($124  and  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres)  to  attract  new  recruits, 
and  a  few  weeks  later  it  authorized  an  additional  loan  of  twenty-five 
million  dollars  to  meet  expenses.  The  large  expenditures  of  money 
necessary  to  conduct  the  war  seem  to  have  weighed  specially  on 
Senator  Mason's  mind.  Being  a  strong  Federalist,  he  was  convinced 
that  President  JNIadison  and  the  Democrats  were  prolonging  the  war 
for  partisan  purposes.  The  treaty  of  peace  was  not  signed  until 
ten  months  later — December  24,  1814. 


[254] 


LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— JAMES  GOULD 

James  Gould 
Class  of  1791 

Born,  December  5,  1770;  Died,  May  11,  1838 
Teacher  of  Law 

James  Gould,  the  first  American  lawj^-er  to  make  the  teaching 
of  law  the  main  work  of  his  life,'  was  born  in  Branford,  Connecticut, 
where  his  father  and  his  grandfather  before  him  were  practicing 
physicians.  Yale,  in  his  day,  was  beginning  to  feel  the  effect  of 
the  forces  which  were  bringing  on  the  French  Revolution.  Gould's 
classmate,  Hon.  Samuel  M.  Hopkins,  says  that  "the  spirit  of  Yale 
College  was  at  that  time  a  spirit  of  literary  ambition  and  of 
infidelity."^  Doubtless  this  was  in  a  measure  true,  but  a  small  class — • 
only  twenty-seven  men — contained,  in  addition  to  Gould  and 
Hopkins,  two  men  of  note — Peter  Buell  Porter  (q.v.),  afterwards 
Secretary  of  War  and  a  General  in  the  War  of  1812,  and  Stephen 
Elliott,  a  citizen  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  whose  work  in  the 
widely  separated  fields  of  public  finance,  botany,^  and  education, 
gained  broad  recognition. 

Gould  maintained  throughout  his  college  course  the  highest  stand 
in  his  studies,  and  graduated  with  the  Salutatory  Oration — then  the 
most  distinguished  honor.  This  was  specially  commendable,  as 
inherited  gout  early  affected  his  eyesight,  and  generally  made  it 
necessary  for  him  to  have  the  books  assigned  for  study  read  aloud. 
Perhaps  this  ill-health  explains  his  small  bills  at  the  College  Butler's, 
where  apples  and  walnuts  seem  to  have  been  his  main  purchases! 
He  was  President  of  Brothers  in  Unity,  was  on  many  of  its 
committees,  served  as  "Professor  of  History,"  "Professor  of  Oratory," 
and  "Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy,"  and,  as  Secretary,  kept  the 
records  for  a  part  of  his  Sophomore  year.    At  the  end  of  Junior  j'^ear, 

1  Baldwin,  "James  Gould,"  in  Oreat  American  Lawyers,  p.  455. 

2  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  IV,  p.  712. 

3  His  Sketch  of  the  Botany  of  South-Carolina,  and  Georgia  is  a  standard  work. 

[255] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

at  the  Anniversan^  of  the  society,  he  took  the  part  of  Esquire  JNIodern 
in  a  play  entitled  "Modern  Knavery,  Scholastic  Pedantry,  and 
Religious  Hypocrisy."  The  minutes  of  the  society  thus  refer  to  this 
event,  which  took  place  at  "Mr.  A.  Bishop's  Theatre": 

The  Tutors,  all  the  Literati  of  the  City,  and  many  respectable  citizens  of 
the  place,  together  with  the  members  of  College  composed  our  very  respectable 
audience — No  Ladies  were  admitted,  it  being  prohibited  by  the  President  &  Tutors — ■ 
M*"  Jones's  Comedy  was  first  performed;  to  which  the  audience  discovered  their 
approbation  by  repeated  peals  of  laughter.* 

Gould  was  evidently  thought  well  of  as  an  actor,  for  he  also  took  part 
in  a  tragedy  which  followed. 

The  debates  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society  were  important 
occasions  in  those  days,  and  they  did  much  for  Gould's  development. 
We  find  him  discussing  such  subjects  as:  "Ought  the  Public  to 
compensate  Individuals  for  the  losses  sustained  during  the  late  war?", 
and  "Would  it  be  politic  for  the  United  States  to  build  a  navy?" 
These  questions  were  both  decided  in  the  affirmative.  He  was 
appointed  one  of  the  society's  orators,  but  "was  prevented  by  ill- 
health  from  performing."  He  also  acquired  a  reputation  for  literary 
skill,  and  laid  the  foundations  of  that  excellent  English  style  which 
marked  his  later  work.  Shortly  after  graduation,  he  won  the  premium 
offered  by  Noah  Webster  (q.v.)  for  "the  best  treatise  on  Ethics, 
Moral  Philosophy,  or  Belles  Lettres,"  his  essay  being  "On  the  Origin 
and  Progress  of  History,  and  the  Utility  of  Historical  Knowledge."^ 
The  winning  of  this  prize  carried  with  it  a  sort  of  guarantee  of  moral 
character,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  deed  of  gift,  printed  in  the  sketch  of 
Webster. 

After  somewhat  over  a  year  of  school  teaching,  Gould  returned 
to  New  Haven,  where  he  served  for  eighteen  months  as  a  college 
tutor,  receiving  seventy  pounds  the  first  year,  and  seventy-five  the 
second.  He  then  went  to  liitchfield  to  complete  his  legal  studies  under 
Judge  Reeve,  a  Princeton  graduate,  but  a  grandson  of  Yale,^  who 

4  MS.  Records  Brothers  in  Unity  for  July  28,  1790. 

5  For  other  recipients  of  this  prize,  see  Yale  Literary  Magazine,  Vol.  XVII,  p.  30. 
«Son  of  Abner  Reeve  (B.A.  1731). 

[  256  ] 


LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— JAMES  GOULD 

had  established,  in  1784,  the  first  law  school  in  America,  and  then  the 
only  institution  of  its  character  in  the  English-speaking  world/  It 
was  with  this  remarkable  school  that  his  main  life  work  was  connected, 
and  it  was  here  that  his  teaching  of  law  became  a  national  influence. 
Judge  Reeve  was  elected  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  state  in  1798. 
From  this  date  until  1820,  Gould  was  his  associate  in  instruction. 
After  that,  until  the  school's  discontinuance  in  1833,  it  was  entirely 
under  his  direction,  his  assistant  for  many  years  being  Hon.  Jabez 
W.  Huntington  (B.A.  1806).  Litchfield  was  then  a  center  of  much 
influence.  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher  (q.v.)  was  making  its  Congregational 
pulpit  famous.  Miss  Sarah  Pierce's  boarding  school  drew  girls 
from  the  most  representative  families;  three  courts  held  regular 
sessions  in  the  town,  and  the  law  school  attracted  students  from 
all  over  the  countrj%  three-quarters  of  them  being  from  outside  the 
state.  Judge  Reeve,  a  man  of  learning  and  eloquence,  deserves  the 
credit  for  founding  the  institution,  and  for  developing  the  course 
of  instruction,  but  he  was  not  the  equal  of  Gould  in  sheer  intellectual 
force,  and  the  school  could  not  have  long  retained  its  renown  without 
the  latter.  No  catalogues  were  issued  in  the  early  years,  but  it  is 
known  that  during  its  history  over  one  thousand  students  were  in 
attendance,  four- fifths  of  them  being  trained  for  the  law  under 
Gould's  instruction.  Among  those  whose  minds  were  thus  largely 
influenced  by  this  eminent  teacher  were:  Horace  Mann,  John  C. 
Calhoun  (q.v.).  Justices  of  the  Federal  Supreme  Court  Baldwin, 
Woodbury,  and  Hunt,  sixteen  United  States  Senators,  and  fifty 
judges  of  the  higher  courts  of  states,  of  whom  nine  were  chief  justices. 
The  school  represented  a  great  advance  over  the  method  of  learning 
law  by  reading  in  a  lawyer's  office,  which  preceded  it.  The  studies 
were  remarkably  comprehensive  for  the  period.  Gould  lectured  on 
Municipal  Law,  Contracts,  Bailments,  Private  Wrongs,  System  of 
Pleading,  Real  Property,  Title  by  Deed,  etc.^    His  published  lectures 

7  Baldwin,  in  Oreat  American  Lawyers,  p.  455. 
»Ibid.,  pp.  469-471. 

[257  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

on  Pleading  remain  "both  a  standard  authority  and  a  model  text 
book."^  The  regular  course  lasted  fourteen  months,  and  was  note- 
worthy for  the  combination  of  the  "case"  and  "text  book"  systems. 
Every  morning  Gould  gave  an  account  of  some  of  the  reported 
English  cases.  These  were  studied  during  the  day,  accompanied  by 
parallel  reading  from  legal  works.  Another  feature  was  the  regular 
holding,  with  much  formality,  of  moot  courts,  at  which  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  presided,  the  leading  law  officer,  the  attorney  general, 
being  chosen  by  the  students. 

In  1816  Gould  was  elected  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  state. 
Its  sessions  were  held  during  the  school's  vacation,  so  he  continued 
his  lectures,  but  he  remained  a  judge  only  three  years,  and  thence- 
forward gave  his  time  entirely  to  teaching.  His  record  on  the  Bench, 
as  at  the  Bar,  was  highly  honorable,  but  his  fame  rests  exclusively 
on  his  career  as  a  teacher  of  law.  Here  "he  then  stood  first  in  the 
United  States, "^°  and  made  his  school  just  as  prominent  in  its  day 
as  that  in  Cambridge  became  two  generations  later. 

The  Harvard  Law  School  was  founded  in  1817,  and  that  of 
Yale  seven  years  afterwards.  The  opportunities  of  these  institutions 
with  universitj^  affiliations,  the  poor  health  of  Judge  Gould,  and 
the  publication  of  two  law  works — both  written  by  Yale  graduates — 
Swift's  Digest  and  Kent's  Commentaries,  which  changed  the  basis 
of  legal  instruction,  had  their  disintegrating  effect  on  the  institution. 
It  declined  in  influence  after  1826. 

The  experience  of  the  past  century  has  shown  conclusively  that 
the  highest  type  of  professional  schools  of  law,  theology,  and  medicine, 
must  hereafter  be  organic  parts  of  universities  in  large  towns  or  cities, 
or  at  least  closely  affiliated  with  them.  Litchfield  Law  School, 
Andover  Theological  Seminary,  as  an  Andover  institution,  and  the 
Medical  School  of  the  Western  District  of  New  York,  are  things  of 
the  past.     Colleges  will  continue  to  thrive  in  small  villages,  but  not 


^Ihid.,  p.  485  (date  1909). 
10  Ibid.,  p.  486. 


[258] 


LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— JAMES  GOULD 

great  professional  schools — they  need  the  contacts  and  the  standards 
of  a  larger  life. 

Judge  Gould  and  his  school  were  thus  described,  in  1851 : 

Thirty-eight  years  ago  ....  there  existed  an  extensive  Law  School  in  the 
State  of  Connecticut,  at  which  more  than  sixty  students  from  all  parts  of  the  country 
were  assembled, — every  State  then  in  the  Union,  being  there  represented.  I  joined 
it  in  1813,  when  it  was  at  its  zenith,  and  the  only  prominent  establishment  of  the 
kind  in  the  land.  The  recollection  is  as  fresh  as  the  events  of  yesterday,  of  our 
passing  along  the  broad,  shaded  streets  of  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  villages 
of  New  England,  with  our  ink  stands  in  our  hands,  and  our  portfolios  under  our 
arms,  to  the  lecture  room  of  Judge  Gould, — the  last  of  the  Romans  of  Common 
Law  lawyers;  the  impersonation  of  its  genius  and  spirit.  It  was,  indeed  in  his 
eyes  the  perfection  of  human  reason — by  which  he  measured  every  principle  and 
rule  of  action,  and  almost  every  sentiment.  He  was  an  admirable  English  scholar; 
every  word  was  pure  English,  undefiled,  and  every  sentence  fell  from  his  lips 
perfectly  finished,  as  clear,  transparent,  and  penetrating  as  light,  and  every  rule 
and  principle  as  exactly  defined  and  limited  as  the  outline  of  a  building  against 
the  sky ^^ 

Judge  Gould  was  a  man  of  much  breadth  of  reading  and  culture, 
and  of  philosophical  mind.  He  was  a  strikingly  handsome  man,  and 
was  known  for  his  courtesy,  and  for  his  charm  in  conversation.  His 
wife,  who  was  a  daughter  of  Senator  Uriah  Tracy  (B.A.  1778) ,  aided 
to  made  his  home  a  peculiarly  attractive  and  interesting  center  for 
the  life  of  the  school  and  of  the  community. 

His  only  memorial  at  his  Alma  Mater  is  a  portrait.  He 
delivered  the  Commencement  address  before  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa 
Society  in  1825.  It  was  on  "The  Efficient  Power  of  Intellectual 
Influence,"  and  was  published.  A  few  years  earlier  the  University 
had  made  him  a  Doctor  of  Laws — surely  an  appropriate  title  for 
one  who  gave,  with  signal  success,  the  major  part  of  thirty-five  years 
of  his  life  to  legal  instruction.  The  best  account  of  his  career  is  that 
given  in  Great  American  Lawyers. 


Mr.  Baldwin, 

I  expect  to  start  for  Litchf^  by  stage,  this  morning.     Whether  Mr.  Jones 
pays  the  redemption  money,  on  my  sister's  mortgage,  or  not,  I  wish  you  to 

11  Ibid.,  pp.  471,  472.    Address  of  Hon.  Charles  J.  Loring  of  Boston. 

[  259  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

send  on  her  papers  (the  mortgage  deed  &c),  to  me,  at  Litchf^.  If  Jones  does 
not  pay,  I  shall  sell  the  land,  immediately,  to  another,  who  has  made  an  offer 
of  $300  for  a  quitclaim  of  my  sister's  title.  If  Jones  pays,  please  (after 
deducting  your  own  fees)  to  retain  also  for  Timothy  Johnson  $3.25,  due  to 
him,  (as  by  the  enclosed  memorandum),  &  forward  the  balance  to  me.  If  the 
money  should  not  be  paid  to  you,  I  shall  pay  your  demand. 

Your  friend,     James  Gould 

N.  Haven,  Monday  Sept.  6 — ^  pas  [sic]  7  a.m. — I  am  to  start  at  8. 

Letters  of  Judge  Gould  are  exceedingly  rare.  The  one  in  the 
collection  is  addressed  to  Roger  Sherman  Baldwin  (q.v.)  and  was 
presented  to  the  author  by  liis  grandson,  Hon.  Simeon  E.  Baldwin 
(B.A.  1861).  It  is  without  special  interest  except  as  showing  his 
orderly  and  clear-cut  method  of  statement. 


[260] 


LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— JUDAH  PHILIP  BENJAMIN 

JuDAH  Philip  Benjamin 
Class  of  1829 

Born,  August  11,  1811;  Died,  May  8,  1884 
Jurist,  and  Secretary  of  State  of  the  Southern  Confederacy 

Few  American  jurists  have  had  so  romantic  a  career  as  Judah 
P.  Benjamin.  He  was  born  of  humble  English  Jewish  parents  in 
St.  Croix,  in  the  West  Indies,  but  was  destined  to  become  the  "brains 
of  the  Southern  Confederacy,"  and  later  one  of  the  best  known  of 
English  barristers  and  legal  writers  of  the  second  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  His  boyhood  was  passed  in  Wilmington,  Xorth  Carolina, 
but  he  is  entered  in  the  college  catalogues  as  coming  from  Charleston, 
then  a  prominent  Yale  center.  He  made  an  excellent  record  as  a 
scholar  at  New  Haven,  his  three  recorded  term  stands  in  the  Book  of 
Averages  being  all  3.3 — showing  remarkable  consistency.  Benjamin's 
signature  may  still  be  seen  in  the  membership  book  of  the  Philen- 
cratian  Society  in  the  author's  possession.  He  joined  as  a  Sopho- 
more, promising  to  "conform"  to  its  articles,  the  first  of  which  stated 
its  object  to  be  "to  encourage  habits  of  temperance  in  this  &  similar 
institutions."  The  society's  purposes  are  more  fully  described  in  the 
biography  of  Horace  Bushnell  (q.v.).  A  few  j^ears  later  (1830) 
it  changed  from  a  temperance  to  a  total  abstinence  basis,  the  change 
being  due  to  the  belief  of  its  members  that  intemperance  had  become 
"  a  vice  of  alarming  extent  throughout  this  country,  and  productive 
of  ruin  &  disgrace  in  this  Institution " 

He  was  a  Sophomore  Disputant  at  an  Exhibition  in  Brothers. 
His  subject  was  "Ought  the  United  States  to  assist  Greece  in  her 
present  struggle  for  liberty?"  Among  the  other  topics  which  the 
society  discussed  during  his  membership,  was  "Ought  the  government 
of  the  U.  States  to  take  immediate  measures  for  the  Manumission  of 
the  slaves  of  our  country?"  Another  debate,  in  which  we  are  told 
that  slavery,  party  spirit,  sectional  interest,   and  the   presidential 

[261] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

election  (1826)  were  the  principal  points  on  which  the  argument 
turned,  was  on  "Is  it  probable  that  our  country  Mali  continue  united 
under  its  present  form  of  government  for  a  century?"  Both  questions 
were  decided  in  the  affirmative.  The  records,  unfortunately,  do  not 
show  the  sides  taken  by  the  debaters.  In  December  of  his 
Junior  year,  just  prior  to  his  dismissal  from  college,  the  society 
discussed  "Ought  Missouri  to  have  been  admitted  into  the  Union 
with  the  privilege  of  holding  Slaves?"  "All  hammered  away  upon 
negitive  [sic]  till  it  got  along  up  into  the  Junior  Class  when  one, 
after  apologizing  for  not  having  prepared  himself,  had  the  audacity 
to  say  that  Congress  had  no  right  to  withhold  this  privilege  &c.  &c. 
and  set  down."  The  records  state  that  Mr.  Mix  alone,  among  the 
other  members,  ventured  to  support  the  affirmative.  As  Benjamin 
was  one  of  only  two  or  three  Southerners  who  were  Juniors  in 
Brothers  at  this  time,  it  is  not  improbable  that  he  was  the  one  who 
had  the  "audacity"  to  uphold  the  right  of  maintaining  slavery. 

There  have  been  many  rumors  as  to  the  real  reason  for  his  leaving 
Yale  before  receiving  a  degree.  The  Faculty  minutes  throw  no 
light  on  the  subject,  but  the  following  letter,  now  published  for  the 
first  time,  clearly  shows  that  he  had  committed  some  serious  offense 
against  the  government  of  College. 

Charleston  Jany  14th  i828 
Reverend  Jeremiah  Day 
Highly  Respected  Sir  I 

It  is  with  shame  and  diffidence  that  I  now  address  you  to  solicit  your  forgiveness 
and  interference  with  the  Faculty  in  my  behalf.  And  I  beseech  you,  Sir,  not  to 
attribute  my  improper  conduct  to  any  design  or  intentional  violation  of  the  laws  of 
college,  nor  to  suppose  that  I  would  be  guilty  of  any  premediated  disrespect  to 
yourself  or  any  member  of  the  Faculty.  And  I  think,  Sir,  you  will  not  consider 
it  improper  for  me  to  express  my  hopes,  that  my  previous  conduct  in  college  was 
such  as  will  not  render  it  too  presumptuous  in  me  to  hope  that  it  will  make  a 
favorable  impression  upon  yourself  and  the  Faculty. 

Allow  me,  Sir,  here  also  to  express  my  gratitude  to  the  Faculty  for  their  kind 
indulgence  to  my  father  in  regard  to  pecuniary  affairs;  and  also  to  yourself  and 
every  individual  member  of  the  Faculty  for  their  attention  and  paternal  care  of 
me,  during  the  time  I  had  the  honor  to  be  a  member  of  the  institution. 

[262] 


LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— JUDAH  PHILIP  BENJAMIN 

With  hopes   of  yet  completing  my  education  under  your   auspices,   I   remain. 
Sir,  your  most  respectful  and  obedient  servant 

J.  P.  Benjamin 

P.  S.  May  I  solicit.  Sir,  (if  not  too  troublesome  to  you)  the  favor  of  a  few  lines  in 
answer  to  this  letter,  that  I  may  be  able  to  judge  of  the  possibility  of  my  return 
to  the  University? 

J.  P.  Benjamin^ 

There  is  no  evidence  that  President  Day  even  presented  this  letter  to 
the  Faculty.  Probably  Benjamin  and  his  roommate,  John  T.  Board- 
man,  were  both  involved  in  the  ban,  for  the  latter  sent  to  the  Faculty 
a  week  prior  to  the  date  of  this  letter,  an  apologj^^  "for  whatever  was 
done  by  me,  contrary  to  their  Laws  or  wishes  in  the  late  affairs."  The 
exact  cause  of  expulsion  remains  a  mystery,  but  we  cannot  deny  that 
Benjamin's  petition  was  a  dignified  and  manly  one,  and  that  it  showed 
appreciation  of  what  the  University  had  done  for  him.  His  own 
reported  statement  does  not  seem  to  have  included  the  whole  truth: 
"I  left  college,"  he  said,  "in  the  fall  of  1827,  in  consequence  of  my 
father's  reverses  rendering  him  unable  to  maintain  me  there  any 
longer."^ 

He  studied  law  in  a  notary's  office  in  New  Orleans,  where  he 
was  admitted  to  the  Bar  in  1832.  Although  engaged  in  teaching 
school,  he  found  time  to  prepare  A  Digest  of  Reported  Decisions  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  late  Territory  of  Orleans  and  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Louisiana,  which  added  to  his  growing  reputation 
among  lawyers.  He  soon  rose  to  be  the  recognized  leader  of  the 
Louisiana  Bar,  his  most  intimate  associate  being  Thomas  Slidell 
(B.A.  1825),  afterwards  Chief  Justice  of  the  state.  Mr.  Benjamin's 
legal  talent  and  interest  in  constitutional  questions  earh^  attracted 
him  to  public  life.  In  1845,  he  was  a  member  of  the  Louisiana 
Constitutional  Convention.  Two  years  afterwards  he  was  counsel 
to  the  United  States  Commissioner  to  investigate  Spanish  land-titles 
in  California,  and  still  later  he  was  a  Presidential  Elector-at-Large 

1  "Papers  relating  to  College  Discipline,"  1821-1830. 

2  Butler,  Judah  P.  Benjamin,  in  American  Crisis  Biographies,  p.  291. 

[263] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

from  his  state.  These  positions  were  all  somewhat  local  in  character, 
and  it  was  not  until  his  election  to  the  United  States  Senate,  in  1852, 
that  he  became  well  known  to  the  nation. 

During  his  decade  in  the  Senate,  he  was  recognized  as  a  leader 
among  the  Southern  Democrats,  and  as  a  strong  advocate  of  the  legal 
claims  of  slavery.  With  his  colleague,  John  Slidell,  of  Mason  and 
Slidell  fame,  and  a  brother  of  his  Yale  law  partner,  he  withdrew  from 
the  Senate  Februarj^  4,  1861,  on  the  secession  of  Louisiana.  Then 
began  his  remarkable  career  in  the  service  of  the  Confederate  govern- 
ment, of  which  he  was  generally  considered  the  ablest  member.  He 
became  in  turn  Attorney  General,  Secretary  of  War,  and  Secretary 
of  State,  serving  with  success  in  the  last  position  until  the  close  of 
the  war.  He  was  an  indefatigable  worker.  President  Jefferson 
Davis,  who  earlier  in  his  political  career  had  been  his  opponent,  became 
dependent  upon  him,  making  him  his  closest  political  adviser. 

After  the  fall  of  the  Confederacy,  Benjamin  escaped  in  an  open 
boat  from  Florida  to  the  Bahamas,  and  later  went  to  England,  where 
the  second  portion  of  his  life  was  spent  in  a  most  creditable  way. 
He  began  immediately  the  study  of  English  law  at  Lincoln's  Inn, 
and  was  called  to  the  Bar  in  1866,  when  fifty-five  years  of  age.  It 
was  difficult  for  a  newcomer  ^vithout  social  or  political  influence,  in 
a  conservative  community  where  eminent  barristers  were  probably 
more  numerous  than  in  any  other  city  in  the  world,  to  build  up  a  large 
practice.  His  great  legal  work,  published  in  1868,  attracted  attention 
to  his  abilities,  and  his  rise  thereafter  was  rapid.  This  volume  was 
A  Treatise  on  the  Law  of  Sale  of  Personal  Property.  It  is  still 
the  standard  authority  in  its  field,  both  in  England  and  America. 
The  latest  edition  of  the  Encyclopcedia  Britannica  (1910)  calls  it 
"the  principal  text  book  on  its  subject,  and  a  fitting  monument  of 
the  author's  career  at  the  English  Bar,  of  his  industry  and  learning."^ 
It  is  hard  to  exaggerate  the  professional  success  which  Benjamin 
attained  during  the  fifteen  years  following  the  publication  of  this 

3  Encyclopedia  Britannica,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  740. 

[264-] 


LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— JUDAH  PHILIP  BENJAMIN 

work  on  "Sales."  In  1872,  he  was  made  Queen's  Counsel,  and  his 
practice  became  so  extensive  that  during  the  later  years  he  confined 
himself  exclusively  to  arguing  appeal  cases  before  the  Privy  Council 
and  the  House  of  Lords.  His  practice  brought  him  over  ten  thousand 
pounds  a  year  during  the  eight  years  prior  to  his  withdrawal  from 
practice,  owing  to  ill-health.  This  event  was  made  the  occasion  for 
a  farewell  banquet  in  the  hall  of  the  Inner  Temple,  attended  by  over 
two  hundred  members  of  the  Bar,  including  the  Lord  Chancellor,  the 
Attorney  General,  the  Lord  Chief  Justice,  the  Master  of  the  Rolls, 
etc.*    Later  he  withdrew  to  Paris  where  his  health  failed  rapidly. 

Of  the  many  reminiscences  of  his  English  career,  there  is  none 
more  interesting  than  the  fragment  left  by  the  late  Baron  Pollock. 
This  is  of  special  value  as  he  was  the  English  legal  preceptor  of 
Benjamin,  and  became  himself  the  recognized  leader  of  the  British 
Bar  at  the  beginning  of  this  century: 

It  is  more  than  thirty  years  since,  to  my  great  gain,  I  came  to  know  J.  P, 
Benjamin.  From  that  time  till  his  leaving  England  for  Paris,  not  long  before  his 
death,  we  lived  on  terms  of  the  closest  intimacy,  and  when  he  was  taken  from  us 
I  felt  that  I  had  lost  a  charming  companion,  an  accomplished  Brother  Lawyer,  and 
a  true  friend,  one  I  could  not  easily  replace.  His  ways,  his  habits  of  thought,  and 
modes  of  expression  could  never  be  forgotten,  ....  and  when  Cairns  was  Lord 
Chancellor  he  was  so  struck  with  Benjamin's  arguments  in  a  case  before  him,  that 
he  wrote  him  a  note  proposing,  if  Benjamin  was  willing,  to  appoint  him  one  of 
Her  Majesty's  Counsel.  This  was  accepted,  and  from  that  time  Benjamin's  practice 
increased,  and  he  soon  held  a  high  position,  and  made  as  large  an  income  as  any 
barrister  within  the  Bar.^ 

He  played  a  conspicuous  part  as  an  advocate  and  promoter  of 
the  Southern  cause.  Here  his  work  is  part  of  the  political  history  of 
the  nation.  But  the  thing  for  which  his  Alma  ]Mater  respects  him 
most  is  that  after  reaching  middle  age,  and  under  very  discouraging 
conditions,  he  made  American  talent  at  the  Bar  honored  in  England, 
and  produced  a  legal  work  that  has  endured  as  an  invaluable 
authority  for  almost  half  a  centur}^ 

4  See  London  Times,  July  2,  1883. 

5  Fortnightly  Review,  Vol.  69,  March,  1898,  pp.  355  and  359. 

[  265  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

An  interesting  character  sketch  has  recently  been  pubhshed  in 
the  Atlantic  Monthly  (1913),  b}-  Gamahel  Bradford,  Jr.  Its  author 
is  favorable  to  Benjamin's  character  and  personalit}'-,  but  believes 
that  his  ability,  except  as  a  lawyer,  has  been  exaggerated.  Judah  P. 
Benjamin,  by  Pierce  Butler,  in  the  series  known  as  American  Crisis 
Biographies,  gives  an  account  of  his  life  and  work. 


Confederate  States  of  America, 
War  Department, 

Richmond,  9  December  1861 — 
Sir 

I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the  3^  inst. — 

I  am  very  sure  that  you  can  only  have  written  the  complaints  contained 
in  your  letter  under  a  total  misapprehension  of  facts,  and  that  your  animad- 
version on  the  conduct  of  Co^  Gorgas  in  this  instance  at  least  is  quite  void  of 
foundation. — 

Permit  me  to  state  the  facts  to  which  my  communication  referred — 

A  large  part  of  the  public  property  at  Harper's  Ferry  is  still  there  exposed 
to  loss  and  destruction  by  the  enemy — It  can  only  be  saved  by  the  military 
forces  under  command  of  the  Confederate  officers — 

It  is  not  for  a  moment  intended  by  Co^  Gorgas  or  any  officer  of  this 
department  that  any  other  disposal  of  this  property  be  made  than  that 
sanctioned  by  your  convention  and  partially  effected  by  you — The  only 
purpose  is  to  get  it  out  of  the  reach  of  the  enemy  to  a  place  where  it  can  be 
inventoried  and  disposed  of  in  the  same  manner  as  all  the  other  machinery — 

The  simple  suggestion  intended  b}^  Co^  Gorgas  was  this,  viz,  that  as  the 
property  had  to  be  snatched  as  it  were  from  the  grasp  of  the  enemy,  it  should 
be  sent  here  to  be  inventoried  instead  of  attempting  to  inventory  it  at  Harper's 
Ferry — 

In  my  letter  to  you  I  asked  that  you  yourself  should  fix  such  measures 
of  precaution  as  you  deemed  necessary  in  regard  to  its  delivery  here — By  this 
I  meant  that  you  should  receive  the  property  yourself,  until  the  proper 
inventories  could  be  made  under  such  precautions  for  its  delivery  to  the  arsenal 
as  you  thought  proper — 

I  cannot  suppose  that  your  Excellency  prefers  to  leave  the  property  at 
Harper's  Ferry  to  having  it  saved  and  sent  to  Richmond,  nor  did  I  know  that 
you  expected  it  to  be  saved  in  any  other  manner  than  by  the  movements  of 
the  Confederate  troops — Neither  did  it  occur  to  me  that  you  could  have  any 

[266] 


LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— JUDAH  PHILIP  BENJAMIN 

objection  to  postponing  until  your  arrival  in  Richmond  the  making  of  an 
Inventory  that  might  be  impracticable  in  the  hurried  movement  of  saving 
the  property — 

If  however  you  prefer  moving  the  property  yourself,  I  will  of  course 
abstain  from  ordering  any  attempt  to  do  what  I  really  thought  was  a  service 
to  you  and  the  State  of  Virginia — 

I  am  very  resp*. 
Yr  Ob*.  St. 
J.  P.  Benjamin 

Sec  of  War 
Hon.  John  Letcher 

Governor  of  V* 

Governor  Letcher,  to  whom  this  letter  is  addressed,  had  opposed 
the  policy  of  disunion,  but  when  the  Virginia  Convention  passed  the 
secession  ordinance  he  immediately  placed  the  state's  forces  at  the 
disposition  of  the  Confederacy.  Colonel  Josiah  Gorgas,  the  father 
of  General  Gorgas,  whose  name  is  inseparably  linked  with  the  Panama 
Canal,  was  in  charge  of  the  ordnance  department  of  the  Southern 
Army.  As  such  he  felt  specially  responsible  for  the  valuable  munitions 
of  war  stored  at  Harper's  Ferry,  the  federal  arsenal  which  had  been 
seized  by  the  state  authorities  in  the  spring  of  1861.  The  letter 
indicates  the  difficulties  of  the  extreme  states  rights  position. 
Benjamin,  as  Secretary  of  War,  had  to  use  great  tact  to  make  the 
Southern  states  subordinate  themselves  to  the  needs  of  the  central 
government  at  Richmond,  and  to  prevent  the  apparent  overlapping 
of  state  and  "confederate"  jurisdictions.  Subsequent  events  proved 
that  he  was  right  in  thinking  that  it  would  be  dangerous  to  leave 
military  stores  at  Harper's  Ferry.  It  should  be  added,  however,  that 
he  was  not  considered  a  conspicuous  success  as  Secretary  of  War. 


[267] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

William  Maxwell  Evarts 
Class  of  1837 

Born,  February  6,  1818;  Died,  February  28,  1901 
Leader  of  the  American  Bar,  and  Secretary  of  State 

Mr.  Evarts'  brilliant  career  at  the  Bar  gives  him  a  prominent 
place  in  the  history  of  the  legal  profession  in  America,  and  makes 
the  study  of  his  college  career  and  of  his  later  influence  one  of  special 
interest.  He  was  born  in  a  Yale  household  in  Boston,  Massachusetts, 
where  his  honored  father,  Jeremiah  Evarts  (q.v.),  was  at  that  time 
editor  of  the  Panoplist,  one  of  the  most  influential  Christian  journals 
in  America  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century.  He  was 
named  after  his  father's  classmate,  William  Maxwell.  His  mother 
was  a  daughter  of  Yale's  Treasurer,  Roger  Sherman,  and  as  he  himself 
had  a  brother  and  three  sons  at  the  College,  he  may  be  considered 
an  embodiment  of  its  traditions.  He  entered  with  the  Class  of 
1837 — one  of  the  many  modest  classes  which  has  adopted  the 
adjective  "famous"  as  descriptive  of  its  character.  But  1837  differs 
from  most  of  its  rivals  in  that  the  judgment  of  its  members 
is  confirmed  bj^  that  of  the  outside  public.  The  class  contained  a 
presidential  candidate,  whom  many  impartial  historians  believe  to 
have  been  entitled  to  occupy  the  White  House — Tilden;  a  Chief 
Justice  of  the  United  States — Waite;  a  Secretary  of  State — Evarts; 
an  Attorney  General  and  ^Minister  to  England — Pierrepont,  and  a 
member  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences — the  younger  Silli- 
man, — a  remarkable  group  to  be  found  in  a  body  of  men  which 
numbered  only  one  hundred  and  four  at  graduation.  The  classes 
of  1746  and  of  1778  alone  can  be  compared  with  it  in  eminence. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  with  such  men  among  its  number  the 
class  should  have  given  birth  to  one  of  the  most  important  of  the 
institutions  connected  with  the  academic  life  of  the  University.    The 

[  268  ] 


WlLM-A.M     MaXWELI,    EvaRTS 

Cl-ASS    OF     IS.'i? 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

William  Maxwell  Evarts 
Class  of  1837 

Born,  February  6,  1818;  Died,  February  28,  1901 
Leader  of  the  American  Bar,  and  Secretary  of  State 

Mr.  Evarts'  brilliant  career  at  the  Bar  gives  him  a  prominent 
place  in  the  history  of  the  legal  profession  in  America,  and  makes 
the  study  of  his  college  career  and  of  his  later  influence  one  of  special 
interest.  He  was  born  in  a  Yale  household  in  Boston,  Massachusetts, 
where  his  honored  father,  Jeremiah  Evarts  (q.v.),  was  at  that  time 
editor  of  the  Panoplist,  one  of  the  most  influential  Christian  journals 
in  America  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century.  He  was 
named  after  his  father's  classmate,  William  Maxwell.  His  mother 
was  a  daughter  of  Yale's  Treasurer,  Roger  Sherman,  and  as  he  himself 
had  a  brother  and  three  sons  at  the  College,  he  may  be  considered 
an  embodiment  of  its  traditions.  He  entered  with  the  Class  of 
1837 — one  of  the  many  modest  classes  which  has  adopted  the 
adjective  "famous"  as  descriptive  of  its  character.  But  1837  differs 
from  most  of  its  rivals  in  that  the  judgment  of  its  members 
is  confirmed  by  that  of  the  outside  public.  The  class  contained  a 
presidential  candidate,  whom  many  impartial  historians  believe  to 
have  been  entitled  to  occupy  the  White  House — Tilden;  a  Chief 
Justice  of  the  United  States — ^^'aite ;  a  Secretary  of  State — Evarts ; 
an  Attorney  General  and  Minister  to  England — Pierrepont,  and  a 
member  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences — the  younger  Silli- 
man, — a  remarkable  group  to  be  found  in  a  body  of  men  which 
numbered  only  one  hundred  and  four  at  graduation.  The  classes 
of  1746  and  of  1778  alone  can  be  compared  with  it  in  eminence. 

It  is  not  surprising  that^with  such,  men  ^Y\Qf)g  its  number  the 
class  should  have  given  birth  to  one  of  the  most  important  of  the 
institutions  connected  with  the  academic  liie  of  the  University.    The 

[268] 


LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— WILLIAM  MAXWELL  EVARTS 

Ycde  Literary  Magazine,  the  successor  of  many  ephemeral  college 
publications,  which  showed  the  growing  literary  interest  of  the  time, 
was  founded  in  1836.  Then  the  brown  cover  with  the  quaint  woodcut 
of  Elihu  Yale,  now  familiar  to  every  graduate,  first  appeared  on  the 
Campus.  Its  original  sanctum  was  125  South  College,  the  room 
of  Evarts  and  of  his  friend,  William  T.  Bacon,  who  seems  to  have 
suggested  the  venture.  Evarts  proposed  the  name,  and  selected  the 
Latin  motto,  while  Professor  Silliman  (Senior)  is  responsible  for 
the  reproduction  of  the  Yale  portrait  on  the  cover.^  Evarts  lived 
long  enough  to  know  that  he  had  started  an  editorial  succession  which 
outlived  that  of  any  other  college  paper  of  the  English-speaking 
world,  and  which  set  the  standard  for  American  undergraduate 
magazines  of  a  literary  character.  The  original  prospectus  has  this 
statement  of  purpose : 

To  foster  a  literary  spirit,  and  to  furnish  a  medium  for  its  exercise;  to  rescue 
from  utter  waste  the  many  thoughts  and  musings  of  a  student's  leisure  hours ;  and 
to  afford  some  opportunity  to  train  ourselves  for  the  strife  and  collision  of  mind 
which  we  must  expect  in  after  life; — such,  and  similar  motives  have  urged  us  to 
this  undertaking. 

Here  is  the  valedictory  which  he  wrote  on  behalf  of  the  first  editorial 
board : 

Our  opinion  of  the  advantages  resulting  to  the  institution  from  such  a  publi- 
cation has  undergone  no  change.  So  long  as  its  proper  scope  and  province  are 
weU  observed,  so  long  as  it  is  sustained  with  unanimity  and  vigor,  it  will  be  an 
honor  and  a  service  to  our  community;  but  should  it  ever  be  allowed  to  transgress 
the  modesty,  which  our  years  and  station  enjoin,  should  its  management  ever  be 
made  an  object  of  party  strife,  should  it  begin  to  languish  or  vibrate  from  energy 
to  depression,  its  beauty  and  utility  are  at  once  destroyed.^ 

He  took  active  part  in  the  debates  of  Linonia,  and  delivered  the 
address  at  its  one  hundredth  anniversary,  in  1853.  In  this  he  paid 
high  tribute  to  the  influence  upon  him  and  upon  those  of  his  generation 
of  his  old  debating  club.  After  referring  to  "the  valuable  benefits 
which  its  discipline  afforded  him,  the  full  treasury  of  moral,  intel- 

1  Kingsley,  Yale  College,  Vol.  I,  p.  351. 

2  Quoted  from  Kingsley,  Yale  College,  Vol.  I,  p.  353. 

[  269  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

lectiial,  and  social  influences  there  gathered  and  ever  since  attending 

him,"  he  continued: 

While,  then,  we  greet  the  COLLEGE  as  the  gracious  mother  of  our  intellectual 
life,  from  whose  full  breasts  we  drew  the  nutriment  of  learning,  it  is  in  this 
LINONIAN  SOCIETY  that  we,  who  have  met  for  this  centennial  commemoration, 
found  the  play-ground  and  arena,  the  palaestra,  the  forum,  the  agora,  in  which  the 
new-born  vigor  was  exercised  and  trained.  It  was  here  that  the  faculties  acquired 
were  first  applied,  and  here  were  had  the  prelude  and  preparation  for  the  public 

labors  and  conflicts  of  real  life I   speak  but  the  common  sentiment  of  the 

graduates  and  friends  of  Yale  College,  and  of  all  others  who  have  had  occasion 
to  compare  the  system  of  education  here,  and  its  results,  with  the  methods  of  other 
universities,  when  I  attribute  no  small  share  of  the  permanent  hold  upon  the 
confidence  and  respect  of  the  whole  country  which  tliis  university  has  ever  retained, 
to  the  influence  of  these  great  literary  societies.^ 

He  roomed  for  his  first  two  years  at  Judge  Baldwin's,  but  in 
Junior  year  moved  to  South  College.  In  spite  of  receiving  two 
warnings,  and  "a  letter  home"  for  "irregular  conduct  in  the  Hall,"* 
he  had,  on  the  whole,  a  career  typical  of  the  best  Yale  tradition, 
combining,  as  it  did,  membership  in  Phi  Beta  Kappa,  on  the  Editorial 
Board  of  the  "I^it.,"  and  in  one  of  the  Senior  societies — the  oldest. 
The  subject  of  his  oration  at  the  Junior  Exhibition  was  "Philosophy 
in  its  influence  on  Revolutions."  At  Commencement  his  theme  was 
"Intellectual  Independence."  He  was  considered  a  man  of  great 
ability  and  force  of  character.  A  classmate  says  that  "he  was  always 
and  everywhere  the  best  mind  of  the  class."^  He  graduated  third,  in 
spite  of  identifying  himself  heartily  with  what  have  since  become 
known  as  extra-curriculum  activities,  and  being  the  "minor  bully." 
Evarts  was  one  of  the  last  men  to  hold  the  office,  which  was  that  of  a 
sort  of  assistant  to  the  Bully.  "Bullyism"  is  the  subject  of  an 
extended  sketch  in  Kingsley's  Yale  College,  so  there  is  no  need  of  a 
detailed  account  of  the  institution  here.  The  Faculty  voted,  in  1840, 
to  forbid  the  classes  to  appoint  any  "permanent  leader  or  officer."^ 

s  Public  Life,  An  Oration,  by  William  Maxwell  Evarts  ....  Published  by  the  Linonian 
Society,  pp.  5-8. 

*  MS.  Records  of  the  Faculty,  December  7,  1836. 

5  W.  T.  Bacon,  see  letter  in  Kingslev,  Yale  College,  Vol.  T,  p.  481. 

«MS.  Faculty  Records,  October  2,'  1840.  Cf.  vote  of  July  8,  1840:  "Voted  that  the 
Faculty  (though  they  have  no  predilection  for  the  term  Bully)  advise  the  Chairmen  to  cease 
their  opposition  to  Bullyism." 

[270] 


LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— WILLIAM  MAXWELL  EVARTS 

This  was  the  climax  of  a  long  struggle  between  different  student 
factions,  which  was  brewing  during  Evarts'  college  career.  He  always 
retained,  not  only  his  Yale  interest,  but  his  universit}^  and  class 
enthusiasm,  and  presided  "de  jure,"  as  the  Class  Records  put  it,  at  all 
their  reunions,  in  addition  to  serving  as  first  President  of  the  New 
York  Alumni  Association. 

He  began  the  study  of  law  at  Harvard,  and  finished  it  in  Xew 
York  under  Daniel  Lord  (B.A.  1814),  then  one  of  the  leaders  of 
the  Bar.  Evarts'  legal  acumen,  his  brilliant  mind,  his  knowledge  of 
the  principles  of  jurisprudence,  soon  made  him  a  marked  man.  In 
1849,  he  was  chosen  Assistant  District  Attorney  of  New  York  City, 
a  position  which  he  occupied  with  distinction  for  four  years.  In  1860, 
he  became  a  national  figure  through  his  successful  argument  before 
the  New  York  Court  of  Appeals  of  the  Lemmon  slave  case,  in 
which  he  was  one  of  the  counsel  of  New  York  State  against  Charles 
O' Conor,  who  represented  Virginia.  This  connection  still  further 
strengthened  his  position  as  an  anti-slavery  man.  He  became  promi- 
nent in  the  new  Republican  party,  and  as  Chairman  of  the  New  York 
State  delegation  to  the  Chicago  Convention,  proposed  the  name  of 
William  H.  Seward  for  the  presidency.  These  two  events  of  the 
year  1860  brought  him  to  public  attention  as  an  advocate — one  of 
the  greatest  America  has  produced — and  it  is  as  an  advocate  that  his 
fame  is  most  secure.  He  was  Attorney  General  of  the  United  States 
during  the  latter  part  of  Johnson's  term,  the  dignified  American 
Secretary  of  State  throughout  the  Hayes  administration,  and  Senator 
from  New  York  for  the  six  years  beginning  in  1885.  In  spite  of  these 
ten  years  honorably  and  conspicuously  spent  in  high  public  office, 
it  was  as  a  lawyer  rather  than  as  a  statesman  that  he  influenced  the 
nation. 

It  is  impossible  in  a  brief  article  to  do  justice  to  the  service  he 
rendered  in  this  way.  He  conducted  the  government's  case  to 
establish  its  right  to  vessels  captured  in  the  Civil  War  as  maritime 
prizes    (1862),   maintained   successfully   the    unconstitutionality    of 

[  271  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

state  laws  taking  national  bank  stock  and  United  States  bonds 
without  congressional  authorization  (1865-1866),  brilliantly  defended 
President  Johnson  in  the  impeachment  trial  (1868),  assisted 
O' Conor  in  the  trials  which  resulted  in  the  breaking  up  of  the  Tweed 
Ring  in  New  York  (1871),  argued  convincingly  the  Alabama  Claims 
before  the  Geneva  Tribunal  (1872),  defended  Henry  Ward  Beecher 
in  the  famous  trial  where  the  jury,  after  being  locked  up  for  a  week, 
finally  voted  nine  for  acquittal  to  three  against,  and,  in  1877,  was  the 
RepubHcan  party's  representative  before  the  Hayes-Tilden  Electoral 
Commission.  These  are  but  a  few  of  his  conspicuous  public  cases  at 
the  Bar.  He  also,  as  head  of  the  firm  of  Evarts,  Choate  &  Beaman, 
had  an  extensive  consulting  practice,  his  opinions  carrying  much 
weight,  and  commanding  the  largest  fees  known  to  the  profession  in 
his  generation.  It  w^as  as  a  counsel  before  the  courts  advocating  some 
great  principle  that  Evarts  was  supreme.  The  Impeachment  Trial 
showed  him  at  his  best,  and  represented  probably  his  highest  public 
service.  Here  is  what  Hon.  Thomas  Thacher  (B.A.  1871),  speaking 
on  "Yale  and  the  Law,"  said  about  this  at  the  Yale  Bicentennial : 

The  roll  of  successful  advocates  is  not  easy  to  make  up The  list  is  long 

and  selection  would  be  difficult.  There  is,  however,  one  graduate  of  Yale  whose 
name  must  occur  to  all,  one  who  enjoyed  unique  opportunities  and  in  them  won 
unusual  distinction  and  rendered  unusual  service.  I  need  hardly  say  that  I  refer 
to  William  M.  Evarts.  When  the  conflict  between  Andrew  Johnson  and  the 
dominant  party  in  Congress  led  to  the  impeachment  of  the  President,  it  was  his 
privilege  to  appear  in  his  defense  before  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  sitting 
for  the  first  time  in  a  case  of  grand  consequence  as  a  court  of  impeachment.  He 
successfully  contended  against  a  view  of  the  relative  powers  of  Congress  and  the 
Executive  which,  if  established,  would  have  destroyed  the  balance  intended  by  the 
framers  of  the  Constitution.  On  what  a  high  plane  did  he  put  the  discussion!  With 
what  dignity  and  force  did  he  hold  the  tribunal  to  its  high  responsibilities,  to  its 
duty  to  act  as  a  court  and  not  as  politicians,  nor  even  as  statesmen !  By  clear 
exposition  and  logical  argument,  by  lofty  and  dignified  eloquence  and  by  occasional 
humor,  relieving  the  tension  and  sending  his  points  home,  he  made  clear,  so  that 
none  could  overlook  it,  the  purpose  of  the  Constitution  to  make  of  the  President, 
not  an  employee  of  Congress  bound  to  do  its  bidding,  but  an  independent  coordinate 
branch  of  a  well-balanced  government,  being  protected  by  the  Constitution,  and 

[272] 


LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— WILLIAM  MAXWELL  EVARTS 

having  the  right  and  the  duty  to  determine  his  course  thereunder  free  from 
congressional  coercion.'^ 

This  is  high  praise,  but  every  historian  knows  that  it  is  deserved.  In 
one  memorial  address  the  speaker,  referring  to  the  Johnson  impeach- 
ment case,  says  that  "Webster  has  passed  into  history  as  the  great 
expounder  of  the  Constitution;  Evarts  will  be  remembered  by 
posterity  as  the  great  defender  of  Executive  independence  against 

congressional  encroachment  and  tyranny "^     In  the  course  of 

the  trial,  Benjamin  F.  Butler  insisted  that  the  Senate  could  not  act 
as  a  court.  Evarts  wittily  retorted  that  his  opponent  knew  that  the 
only  way  he  could  prevent  his  cause  from  being  turned  out  of  court, 
was  to  turn  the  court  out  of  his  cause.  Then  becoming  serious  he 
asked : 

If  this  is  not  the  altar  of  justice  which  we  stand  about,  if  we  are  not  all  here 
ministers  of  justice,  to  feed  its  sacred  flame,  what  is  the  altar  and  what  do  we  here 
about  it?  It  is  an  altar  of  sacrifice,  not  of  justice,  ....  erected  to  the  divinity  of 
party  hate  and  party  rage.  To  what  end  is  this  prodigious  effort  to  expel  from 
this  tribunal  all  ideas  of  court  and  justice?  What  is  it  but  a  bold,  reckless,  rash  and 
foolish  avowal  that,  if  it  be  a  court,  there  is  no  cause  here,  that,  upon  judicial  reason, 
upon  judicial  scrutiny,  upon  judicial  weighing  and  balancing  of  facts  and  law, 
can  result  in  a  judgment  against  the  President.^ 

He  was  much  in  demand  on  important  public  occasions,  and  had 

the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  witty  after-dinner 

speakers  in  the  country.     President  Dwight  tells  this  characteristic 

story : 

On  occasion  of  one  of  our  Yale  Commencement  dinners  I  had  the  duty,  as  the 
presiding  officer,  of  introducing  the  speakers.  In  performing  this  duty  with  refer- 
ence to  Mr.  Evarts  I  said,  in  allusion  to  the  well-known  length  of  his  sentences  in 
public  address,  "Mr.  Evarts  will  now  give  us  a  single  sentence."  He  rose,  and 
instantaneously  replied,  "It  will  be  a  life-sentence."  Nothing,  surely,  could  have 
been  more  apt  and  delightful,  or  more  like  himself.^" 

The  University  has  known  no  more  loyal  graduate.     He  looked 
upon  Yale,  as  he  said  in  introducing  President  Woolsey  to  the  great 

7  Yale  Bicentennial  Celebration,  pp.  191,  192. 

8  Dougherty,  William  M.  Evarts,  Lawyer  and  Statesman,  p.  32.  (Address  before  the 
Brooklvn  Institute.) 

9  Ibid.,  p.  13. 

10  Dwight,  Memories  of  Yale  Life  and  Men,  pp.  443,  444. 

[  273  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Union  Army  commemorative  gathering  in  Alumni  Hall,  in  1865,  as 
"our  alma  mate?'  from  whose  full  breasts  we  have  drawn  the  nutriment 
of  our  intellectual  life."  He  was  one  of  the  first  group  of  Alumni 
Fellows  chosen,  in  1872,  and  he  continued  on  the  Corporation  for 
three  terms.  He  received  the  Doctorate  of  Laws  from  Yale  as  well 
as  from  Harvard  and  Union.  He  was  a  man  of  brilliant  intellect 
and  high  character.  A  biography  is  in  course  of  preparation  by  one 
of  his  sons.  There  are  portraits  in  the  Law  School  and  in  the  Art 
School. 


7  W.  14th  St. 

Nov.  28.  1863 
Dear  Blatchford, 

I  send  you  a  few  autographs  from  notes  I  gathered  in  London  and  which 
I  have  happened  to  preserve.  I  believe  none  of  them  contain  any  thing  of  a 
personal  or  confidential  nature  and  I  am  happy  to  be  able  to  place  them  at  the 
disposal  of  your  fair  correspondent  for  the  benefit  of  the  Great  Charity  in 
which  we  are  all  interested. 

I  give  a  little  memorandum  of  them,  tho'  the  writers  are  all  well  known. 

1.  Thos.  Milner  Gibson,  long  a  leader  in  liberal  politics  and  a  member 
of  Parliament  and  of  Ld  Palmerston's  ministry. 

2.  Sir  Henry  Holland  long  famous  in  science  and  his  own  profession, 
and  the  Queen's  physician. 

3.  The  Rt  Honble  Edward  Ellin,  for  45  years  a  member  of  Parliament, 
and  a  leading  Liberal  and  Reformer. 

4.  Thos.  Baring,  a  member  of  Parliament  and  the  present  head  of  the 
house  of  Baring  Bros  &  Co. 

4/4  Sir  Jno.  Taylor  Coleridge,  lately  Justice  of  the  Queen's  Bench,  and 
now  a  member  of  the  Privy  Council — a  nephew  of  the  poet. 

5.  Lord  Monteagle,  a  famous  Liberal  in  the  times  of  the  Reform  bill, 
then  known  as  Mr.  Spring  Rice. 

6.  Thos.  Hughes,  a  barrister,  author  of  "Tom.  Brown  at  Oxford." 

GYj  Baron  Lionel  de  Rothschild  member  of  Parliament,  once  head  of  the 
London  house  of  Rothschild. 

7.  Rt  Honorable  Jno.  Evelyn  Denison,  Member  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
&  one  of  the  best  men  in  England. 

8.  Lord  Cranworth,  late  Lord  Chancellor  of  England. 

9.  Rt  Honble  W'^  E.  Gladstone  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  &  leader 

[274] 


LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— WILLIAM  MAXWELL  EVARTS 

of  the  Administration  in  the  House  of  Commons,  the  first  Orator  in  Parliament. 

10.  Richard  Cobden,  M.P. 

11.  The  Duchess  of  Sutherland. 

Yours  Truly 

W^  M.  EvARTS. 

S.  Blatchford,  Esq. 

This  letter  is  addressed  to  Samuel  Blatchford,  who  was  later 
appointed  a  Justice  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court.  It  is 
interesting  for  Evarts'  characterizations  of  many  of  the  leading  men 
of  England,  and  as  showing  the  kind  of  society  which  he  had  recently 
enjoyed  in  London,  where  he  acted  in  a  semi-official  capacity  for  the 
United  States  in  trying  to  prevent  the  recognition  of  the  Confederacy. 
The  autographs  were  placed  on  sale  at  the  Sanitary  Commission  Fair. 


[275] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

^lORRISON    ReMICK   WaITE 

Class  of  1837 

Born,  Xovember  29,  1816;  Died,  March  23,  1888 
Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States 

It  is  unfortunate  from  a  Yale  standpoint  that  Chief  Justice 
Oliver  Ellsworth  left  New  Haven  after  two  years  of  study,  later 
taking  a  degree  from  Princeton,  but  another  Chief  Justice,  Morrison 
R.  Waite,  not  only  spent  his  four  undergraduate  years  at  Yale,  but 
as  a  Fellow,  and  in  other  ways,  was  identified  with  the  life  of  the 
University.  He  came  of  Yale  stock.  His  father,  Henry  M.  Waite 
(B.A.  1809),  was  Chief  Justice  of  Connecticut,  and  the  son  was  born 
in  Lyme.  A  good  account  of  Freshman  life  when  the  latter  was  an 
undergraduate  is  given  in  the  Life  and  Character  of  Sylvester  Judd, 
who  was  in  the  class  ahead  of  him : 

It  is  not  necessary  that  I  give  you  the  particulars  of  a  Freshman's  initiation. 
Suffice  it  to  say,  that  we  had  smoking,  breaking  windows,  stealing  keys,  calling 
before  mock-tutors,  and  so  forth.  These  a  Freshman  must  endure,  and  with  the 
more  grace  the  better;  for  resistance  seems  almost  vain. 

We  board  in  commons ;  that  is,  some  hundred  or  hundred  and  fifty  students  eat 
on  the  lower  floor  of  a  building,  partitioned  into  rooms,  connected  by  doors.  Our 
fare  is  good,  but  we  have  noise  and  confusion  without  end.  While  the  blessing  is 
being  asked  at  one  table,  there  will  be  rapping,  ringing  bells,  and  hollowing  for 
"Waiter,  waiter,"  at  another.  This  mixture  of  noise  and  sacred  things  is  sometimes 
too  great  for  my  risibles,  so  that  I  am  obliged  to  laugh  in  spite  of  myself. 

The  college-bell  wakes  us  at  six  in  the  morning,  when  we  hurry  on  our  clothes, 
wash  in  a  hurry,  and  hurry  to  the  chapel  for  prayers ;  some  buttoning  their  vests, 
some  tying  their  handkerchiefs,  and  all  with  the  sleepy  scales  scarcely  loosened  from 
their  eyes.  This  is  too  much  a  formality,  I  fear,  in  which  religion  is  too  solemnly 
mocked,  but  by  which  it  is  known  that  all  the  students  are  up,  and  ready  for 
recitation,  which  immediately  ensues.^ 

Waite  was  a  Phi  Beta  Kappa  man,  a  member  of  the  oldest  of 
the  Senior  societies,  active  in  the  affairs  of  the  Brothers  in  Unity,  and 
a  loyal  member  of  the  "famous  Class  of  1837."    His  report  as  chair- 

1  Hall,  Life  and  Character  of  Sylvester  Judd,  p.  39. 

[  276  ] 


LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— MORRISON  REMICK  WAITE 

man  of  the  Prudential  Committee  of  Brothers,  stiU  preserved  in 
manuscript,  is  a  model  of  careful  and  conservative  financial  statement. 
At  the  Junior  Exhibition  he  won  an  Oration  appointment.  His 
subject  was  the  character  of  Oliver  Cromwell.  At  Commencement 
he  spoke  "on  the  Science  of  Government."  We  know  from  his  own 
statement  what  was  the  greatest  single  influence  of  his  college  course. 
It  was  the  personality  of  Elias  Loomis  (q.v.),  then  a  tutor.  "If  I 
have  been  successful  in  life,  I  owe  that  success  to  the  influence  of 
Tutor  Loomis  more  than  to  any  other  cause  whatever."  He  made  a 
similar  statement  in  his  speech  at  the  Yale  banquet  given  in  his  honor 
in  Washington,  in  1874:  "To  a  single  word  of  encouragement, 
properly  timed  and  properly  spoken,  which  he  gave  me  at  the  end 
of  my  first  term  in  Freshman  year,  have  I  been  accustomed  to 
attribute  much  of  my  subsequent  success  both  in  and  out  of  college." 
He  closed  his  speech  with  the  toast:  "Our  Alma  Mater.  We  all  love 
her.  May  the  time  never  come  when  she  can  wish  she  had  not  loved 
us."^  President  Porter,  at  the  same  banquet  said  of  the  Chief 
Justice's  undergraduate  career: 

I  think  I  knew  the  class  pretty  well;  and  it  is  pleasant  for  me  to  give  my 
testimony  that  our  guest  was  distinguished  among  his  peers  as  a  man  of  sound 
sense  and  modest  pretensions,  of  entire  fidelity  and  constant  progress  in  all  the 
duties  and  tasks  which  were  imposed  upon  him ;  and  such  as  was  his  college  character 
has,  as  I  am  glad  to  know,  been  his  subsequent  career  in  life.^ 

An  institutional  influence  in  Waite's  college  course  was  the 
Brothers  Society,  of  which  he  was  President,  and  in  whose  welfare  he 
took  much  interest.  In  addition  to  the  training  the  societies  gave  in 
public  speech,  they  were  useful  in  handing  down  the  traditions  of 
the  eminent  Yale  men  of  the  past.  Tliis  was  especially  helped  by  the 
"Statement  of  Facts,"  a  public  meeting  early  in  Freshman  year,  when 
the  orators  of  the  debating  clubs  recounted,  in  grandiloquent  phrases, 
the  advantages  of  their  respective  organizations.  The  custom,  as  a 
formal  institution,  had  only  recently  started  when  Waite  entered 

2  Supplement  to  the  Yale  Courant,  May  9,  1874. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  8. 

[277] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

college.*  Here  is  a  typical  speech  by  one  of  the  orators  of  his  society, 
doubtless  similar  to  those  to  which  he  listened.  The  speaker  refers 
to  Silliman,  Woolsey,  D wight,  Bacon,  Bushnell,  Clayton,  Calhoun, 
Percival,  Gallaudet,  Morse — all  memorialized  in  this  volume — and  to 
others,  as  men  who  "were  nurtured  and  disciplined  in  the  halls  of  the 
Brothers,  and  there  received  the  Achillean  baptism  that  made  their 
lives  invulnerable,"  and  closes  with  this  peroration  that  doubtless 
turned  the  scales  for  many  a  doubting  Freshman: 

Gentlemen,  these  are  the  men  who  wait  to  welcome  you  to  the  blessings  of  our 
Society.  There  they  stand  like  the  majestic  statues  that  line  the  entrance  to  an 
eternal  pyramid.  And  when  I  look  upon  one  statue,  and  another,  and  another,  and 
contemplate  the  colossal  greatness  of  their  proportions,  as  Canova  gazed  with 
rapture  upon  the  sun-god  of  the  Vatican,  I  envy  not  the  man  whose  heart  expands 
not  with  the  sense  of  a  new  nobility,  and  whose  eye  kindles  not  with  the  heart's 
enthusiasm,  as  he  thinks  that  he  too  is  numbered  among  that  glorious  company, — 
that  he  too  is  sprung  from  that  royal  ancestry.  And  who  asks  for  a  richer  heritage, 
or  a  more  enduring  epitaph,  than  that  he  too  is  a  Brother  in  Unity  ?^ 

After  graduation  Waite  pursued  legal  studies  with  his  father, 
and  in  a  lawyer's  office  in  Maumee  City,  Ohio,  where  he  was  admitted 
to  the  Bar  in  1839,  but  he  removed  to  Toledo  a  decade  later.  There 
he  formed  a  partnership  with  his  brother  (B.A.  1853)  and  rose 
steadily  in  professional  reputation,  until  he  was  recognized  so  gener- 
ally as  leader  of  the  Ohio  Bar  that,  in  1874,  he  was  unanimously 
elected  chairman  of  the  State  Constitutional  Convention.  He  served 
a  term  in  the  legislature,  but  declined  all  other  political  offices  as  well 
as  a  seat  on  the  Supreme  Court  Bench  of  the  state,  devoting  himself 
entirely  to  legal  work.  He  first  gained  national  reputation  as  one  of 
America's  counsel  before  the  Geneva  Arbitration  Tribunal.  There, 
with  his  classmate,  Mr.  Evarts,  and  with  Hon.  Caleb  Cushing,  he 
represented  the  United  States  Government  with  dignity  and  ability. 
He  was  specially  charged  with  the  task  of  proving  British  liability  for 
allowing  Confederate  ships  to  coal  in  England  during  the  Civil  War. 
His  clear,  sincere,  logical,  and  masterly  presentation  of  the  law  and 

<  Bagg,  Four  Years  at  Yale,  p.  193. 

5  Hall,  A  Collection  of  College  Words  and  Customs,  p.  448. 

[  278  ] 


Morrison  Re:mick  AVaite 

Class  of   1887 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

ro'  I  fere  is  a  typical  speech  by  one  of  the  orators  of  his  society, 

>s  similar  to  those  to  which  he  listened.  The  speaker  refers 
}<»  Silliman,  Woolsey,  Dwight,  Bacon,  Bushnell,  Clayton,  Calhoun, 
Percival,  Gallaudet,  Morse — all  memorialized  in  this  volume — and  to 
others,  as  men  who  "were  nurtured  and  disciplined  in  the  halls  of  the 
Brothers,  and  there  received  the  Achillean  baptism  that  made  their 
lives  invulnerable,"  and  closes  with  this  peroration  that  doubtless 
turned  the  scales  for  many  a  doubting  Freshman: 

Gentlemen,  these  are  the  men  who  wait  to  welcome  you  to  the  blessings  of  our 
Society.  There  they  stand  like  the  majestic  statues  that  line  the  entrance  to  an 
eternal  pyramid.  And  when  I  look  upon  one  statue,  and  another,  and  another,  and 
contemplate  the  colossal  greatness  of  their  proportions,  as  Canova  gazed  with 
rapture  upon  the  sun-god  of  the  Vatican,  I  envy  not  the  man  whose  heart  expands 
not  with  the  sense  of  a  new  nobility,  and  whose  eye  kindles  not  with  the  heart's 
enthusiasm,  as  he  thinks  that  he  too  is  numbered  among  that  glorious  company, — 
that  he  too  is  sprung  from  that  royal  ancestry.  And  who  asks  for  a  richer  heritage, 
or  a  more  enduring  epitaph,  than  that  he  too  is  a  Brother  in  Unity  ?° 

After  graduation  Waite  pursued  legal  studies  with  his  father, 
and  in  a  lawyer's  office  in  Maumee  Cit5%  Ohio,  where  he  was  admitted 
to  the  Bar  in  1839,  but  he  removed  to  Toledo  a  decade  later.  There 
he  formed  a  partnership  with  his  brother  (B.A.  1853)  and  rose 
steadily  in  professional  re])iitation.  until  he  was  recognized  so  gener- 
ally as  leader  of  the  Ohio  Jiar  that,  in  1874,  he  was  unanimously 
elected  chairman  of  the  State  Constitutional  Convention.  He  served 
a  term  in  the  legislature,  but  declined  all  other  political  offices  as  well 
as  a  seat  on  the  Supreme  Court  Bench  of  the  state,  devoting  himself 
entirely  to  legal  work.  He  first  gained  national  reputation  as  one  of 
America's  counsel  before  the  Geneva  Arbitration  Tribunal.  There, 
with  his  classmate,  Mr.  Evarts,  and  with  Hon.  Caleb  Cushing,  he 
represented  the  United  States  Government  with  dignity  and  ability. 
He  was  specially  charged  with  the  task  of  proving  British  liability  for 
allowing  Confederate  ships  to  coal  in  England  during  the  Civil  War. 
His  clear,  sincere,  logical,  and  masterly  presentation  of  the  law  and 

4  Bagg,  Fo«r  Fc<»r«  «/  Fa/6,  ^Tlja-W    iHOIMsH    ^08IflfloM 
6  Hall,  A  Collection  of  College  Words  and  Customs,  p.  448. 

788 1    -io  82AjD 
f  278  ] 


LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— MORRISON  REMICK  WAITE 

of  the  facts  involved  carried  much  weight.  It  was  the  ability  and 
wisdom  which  he  showed  before  this  International  Court  that  satisfied 
the  nation  when  he  was  nominated  by  President  Grant  to  succeed 
Chief  Justice  Chase,  in  1874.  His  career  on  the  Bench  may  not  have 
been  brilliant,  but  it  was  a  most  dignified,  useful,  and  honorable  one. 
His  administrative  capacity  was  marked,  as  were  also  his  unflagging 
industry,  his  knowledge  of  law,  and  his  soundness  and  clearness  in  its 
interpretation.  Joseph  H.  Choate  thus  estimated  the  value  of  his 
judicial  services  in  his  memorial  address  before  the  Association  of 
the  Bar  of  the  City  of  New  York: 

The  press,  Mr.  Chairman,  with  its  universal  knowledge  of  men  and  things,  has 
presumed  generally  to  say  that  our  late  Chief-Justice  was  not  to  be  classed  among 
the  great  jurists  of  the  English  tongue.  But,  sir,  if  we  can  judge  him  by  what 
he  has  done,  there  may  be  some  ground  for  qualifying  the  generality  of  that  opinion. 
To  have  worthily  filled  the  highest  judicial  oflSce  in  the  country,  and  perhaps  it  is 
not  too  much  to  say,  in  view  of  its  peculiar  constitutional  functions  and  duties,  the 
highest  and  greatest  judicial  office  in  the  world, — to  have  worthily  worn  for  fourteen 
years  the  mantle  that  before  his  time  had  graced  the  shoulders  of  John  Jay,  and 
John  Marshall,  and  Roger  B.  Taney,  and  Salmon  P.  Chase, — to  have  commanded 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  his  judicial  career,  growing  all  the  time  in  strength 
and  power,  the  universal  confidence  of  the  profession  and  the  community, — to  have 
risen  fully  equal  on  all  occasions  to  the  great  public  and  constitutional  questions 
that  came  before  him, — to  have  commanded  the  confidence  and  deference  of  his 
great  associates,  is  certainly  laying  some  claim  to  a  place  among  the  great  jurists 
of  our  country  and  our  race.® 

Chief  Justice  Waite  continued  the  best  traditions  of  the  American 
Bench  by  living  up  to  his  ideal  of  the  complete  separation  of  the 
judiciary  from  partisan  politics.  He  refused  to  be  considered  as  a 
possible  candidate  for  the  presidency  in  1876,  declined  to  serve  on 
the  Hayes-Tilden  Electoral  Commission,  and  although  an  earnest 
Republican  when  appointed  to  the  Court,  noticeably  favored  state 
rights  in  some  of  his  opinions,  while  he  did  not  hesitate  to  help 
in  setting  aside  his  party's  legislation  when  he  believed  it  to  be 
unconstitutional. 

8  Chief  Justice  Waite  ....  Memorial  Before  the  Association  of  the  Bar  of  The  City  of 
New  York,  p.  12. 

[279] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

His  private  life  was  marked  by  the  same  ideals  that  characterized 
his  public  career.  Both  command  complete  respect.  He  succeeded 
Alphonso  Taft  (q.v.)  as  one  of  the  Alumni  Fellows,  serving  for  six 
years  from  1882.  The  University  conferred  upon  him  the  honorary 
Doctorate  of  Laws  on  his  return  from  the  Geneva  Tribunal. 


Washington  D.C. 

Oct.  25:  1878 
Dear  Sir, 

In  times  "way  back"  the  branch  of  the  Waite  family  to  which  I  belong, 
became  connected  with  the  family  of  Remick.  In  that  family  was  "Sir  Morison 
Remick,  General  of  his  Deanish  Majesty's  Army  at  Sea,  A.D.  1507" — At 
least  so  says  an  old  record  in  the  Waite  family.  My  grandfather  Waite's 
name  was  "Remick,"  and  I  was  named  for  him  with  the  prefix  of  "Morison" — 
At  least  this  is  the  tradition,  and  as  the  "old  record"  descends  to  me  in  the 
family  I  have  assumed  that  [it]  tells  the  truth — 

Truly  Yrs. 

M.  R.  Waite 
Leonard  A.  Morrison  Esq 

This  letter  is  self-explanatory.  It  was  written  to  the  author  of 
the  "History  of  the  Morison  or  Morrison  Family." 


[280] 


III.     SUPPLEMENTARY  NAMES 


William  Smith  (Class  of  1719),  Born,  1697;  Died,  1769. 

Few  of  the  early  graduates  of  the  College  were  more  loyal  to  it  than 
William  Smith.  He  was  for  two  years  a  tutor  when  the  College  was  without  a 
resident  rector,  and  made  so  great  a  reputation  in  the  position  that,  although 
a  layman,  he  seems  to  have  been  offered  the  rectorship  in  succession  to  Cutler. 
It  was  due  to  his  influence  that  Philip  Livingston,  the  second  Lord  of  the  manor, 
sent  his  four  distinguished  sons  to  Yale.  When  Smith  took  up  the  practice 
of  law  in  New  York,  he  was  "the  only  non-clerical  graduate  of  any  College 
residing  in  the  city."  He  soon  became  the  recognized  leader  of  the  Bar,  and  was 
considered  by  contemporaries  "the  most  eloquent  Speaker  in  the  Province."^ 
One  of  the  famous  cases  in  which  he  appeared  as  counsel  was  the  defense  of 
Zenger,  the  printer  of  the  New  York  Journal,  in  a  suit  involving  the  principle 
of  the  freedom  of  the  press.  According  to  Gouverneur  Morris,  the  trial,  in 
1735,  "was  the  germ  of  American  Freedom."^  A  little  later  he  acted  as 
Attorney  General  and  Advocate  General  of  New  York,  being  considered  by 
Governor  Clinton  "by  far  the  most  fit  and  able  person  in  the  Prov"  ^e  to 
execute  the  same  offices."^  He  was  for  years  a  member  of  the  Gr  *^ernor's 
Council,  and  represented  New  York  at  the  Albany  Congress  in  1754,  when 
he  served  on  the  committee  to  draft  a  plan  of  colonial  union.  He  declined 
the  Chief  Justiceship  of  the  province,  but  later  accepted  a  position  on  the 
Bench. 

The  collection  contains  an  official  signed  document,  all  in  Smith's  hand- 
writing, regarding  a  civil  suit  before  the  Mayor's  Court  of  New  York  City 
"in  the  Thirteenth  Year  of  the  Reign  of  our  Sovereign  Lord  King  George 
the  Second  &c."     (1734.) 


Jared  Ingersoll  (Class  of  1766),  Born,  1749;  Died,  1822. 

He  was  the  son  of  the  famous  Stamp  Act  agent  of  the  same  name  (B.A. 
1742).  After  graduating  from  Yale  he  went  abroad  for  four  years  of  legal 
study,  the  first  half  of  this  time  being  spent  at  the  Middle  Temple  in  London. 

1  iV«w  York  Gazette,  chronicling  his  death.     Quoted  by  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  I, 
p.  210. 

2  Yale  Bicentennial  Celebration,  p.  178. 

3  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  I,  p.  209. 

[  281  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

He  held  important  offices,  including  membership  in  the  Continental  Congress 
and  in  the  United  States  Constitutional  Convention,  the  Attorney  Generalship 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  United  States  District  Attorneyship  of  his  section. 
He  was  a  strong  Federalist,  and  was  the  defeated  candidate  of  his  party  for 
the  vice-presidency  with  DeWitt  Clinton,  in  1812.  Of  Mr.  Ingersoll's  eminence 
as  a  lawyer,  a  distinguished  authority  has  written: 

In  his  full  vigor,  which  continued  for  nearly  twenty  years  after  the  year  1797, 
I  regard  him  as  having  been  without  comparison  the  most  efficient  manager  of  an 
important  jury  trial  among  all  the  able  men  who  were  then  at  the  Bar  of  Phila- 
delphia  Mr.  Ingersoll's  devotion,  after  I  knew  him,  was  to  the  law,  singly 

and  unremittingly,  with  a  decided  preference  for  its  investigations  and  labors ; 
nor  did  anything,  until  old  age  came  upon  him  and  impaired  his  sight,  break  off 
or  interfere  with  the  great  engagement  of  his  life.* 

The  letter  is  written  to  Elias  Boudinot,  former  President  of  the  Continental 
Congress,  regarding  the  administration  of  an  estate. 


Zephaniah  Swift  (Class  of  1778),  Born,  1759;  Died,  1823. 

He  graduated  from  Yale  in  a  distinguished  class,  taking  for  his  Master's 
discussion  the  affirmative  of  An  universce  literaturce  diffusio,  diffusioni 
Religionis  universalis  antecesserit.  His  System  of  the  Laws  of  Connecticut, 
issued  in  1793,  was  the  first  publication  of  its  kind  in  America,  and  brought 
its  author  deserved  honor.  In  its  revised  form,  known  as  Swift's  Digest,  it  was 
for  many  years  an  authoritative  work  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  both  in 
instruction  and  before  the  courts.  It  is  on  these  and  other  legal  works  that 
his  fame  mainly  rests,  although  he  was  also  an  influential  member  of  Congress, 
and  an  able  judge,  being  for  several  years  Chief  Justice  of  Connecticut.  In 
the  last  position  his  influence  was  so  great  that,  according  to  one  of  his 
distinguished  successors,  writing  a  century  later,  many  factors  "combined 
to  give  whatever  he  uttered  as  Chief-Justice  the  stamp  of  authority,  and  make 
in  every  case  the  first  word  of  the  court  [spoken  by  Swift]  also  the  last  word."^ 

The  letter,  written  March  15,  1798,  encloses  a  copy  of  a  communication 
which  he  had  just  received  from  his  classmate,  Senator  Uriah  Tracy,  regarding 
the  discussion  in  Congress  about  the  cession  of  the  Western  Reserve.  In  reply 
Swift  authorizes  him  "to  propose  and  consent  to  all  the  provisions  and 
restrictions  in  the  Act  ....  if  the  Cession  shall  be  accepted  in  that  manner, 
there  is  not  the  remotest  danger  that  our  title  to  the  soil  will  ever  be  drawn 

4  Binney,  The  Leaders  of  the  Old  Bar  of  Philadelphia,  pp.  85-87. 
B  Baldwin,  in  Great  American  Lawyers,  p.  475. 

[282] 


LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— SUPPLEMENTARY  NAMES 

in  question."  It  was  largely  due  to  another  Yale  graduate,  Stephen  Mix 
Mitchell  (B.A.  1763),  that  Connecticut  had  previously  made  good  her  title 
to  the  land  of  the  Western  Reserve  in  Ohio. 


Roger  Minott  Sherman  (Class  of  1792),  Born,  1773;  Died,  1844. 

He  was  named  after  his  distinguished  uncle,  Roger  Sherman  (Hon.  M.A. 
1768),  who,  although  not  a  college  graduate,  was  for  many  years  Treasurer 
of  Yale.  The  nephew  worked  his  way  largely  through  his  course,  teaching  in 
a  New  Haven  school  during  the  last  two  years.  At  this  time  he  was  in  close 
touch  with  undergraduate  life.  He  united,  in  1795,  with  three  others  in 
presenting  to  the  Prudential  Committee  a  formal  protest  against  doing  away 
with  fagging  and  the  instruction  in  college  manners  given  Freshmen  by 
Seniors.  The  petitioners  held  that  the  former  "being  a  great  part  of  them 
rude,  from  rude  towns  &  families"  would  "assume  a  haughtiness  and  importance 
&  learn  vices"  if  not  subjected  to  proper  discipline  and  instruction  by  upper- 
classmen!     The  custom  continued  for  another  decade. 

After  graduation  he  studied  law  and  served  as  a  college  tutor.  He  held 
various  public  positions,  including,  for  a  few  years,  membership  in  the 
Connecticut  Supreme  Court,  and  was  prominent  in  the  Hartford  Convention, 
but  his  reputation  rests  mainly  on  his  career  as  a  lawyer.  During  his  forty 
years  at  the  Bar,  it  is  believed  that  he  argued  more  cases  than  any  one  in 
the  state  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  while  his  fame  as  an 
advocate  entitled  him  to  take  rank  with  the  most  eminent  lawyers  of  his  day, 
such  as  Daniel  Webster  and  Jeremiah  Mason  (q.v.)."  He  was  seriously 
considered  for  the  presidency  of  the  College  after  Dr.  Dwight's  death,  and 
deserved  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  which  it  conferred  upon  him. 

The  collection  contains  a  fine  letter  to  the  well-known  lawyer,  Samuel  J. 
Hitchcock  (B.A.  1809)  :  "Now  Sir,  I  wish  you  to  inform  me  whether  you 
have  known  any  case,  in  which  the  court  have  abated  the  2^^  Suit  because  the 
first  was  pending,  if  the  suit  was  not  abandoned  as  soon  as  it  could  be,"  etc. 


Roger  Sherman  Baldwin  (Class  of  1811),  Born,  1793;  Died,  1863. 

He  first  came  into  national  prominence  as  a  lawyer  by  his  defense  before 
the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  in  1839-1840,  of  the  "Amistad  Captives," 
where  his  strong  anti-slavery  views  enabled  him  to  speak  with  conviction,  and 
to  urge  the  contention  then  questioned,  that  "the  United  States,  as  a  nation, 

6 Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  V,  pp.  43,  44. 

[  283  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

is  to  be  regarded  as  a  free  state."'  Later  he  was  Governor  of  Connecticut,  and 
United  States  Senator,  The  respect  in  which  his  ability  and  character  were 
held  is  shown  by  his  being  selected  as  one  of  the  Connecticut  delegation  to  the 
National  Peace  Convention,  in  1861.  He  prepared  its  minority  report,  urging 
that  the  states  petition  Congress  for  the  calling  of  a  convention  to  consider 
amendments  to  the  Federal  Constitution.  He  was  eminent  at  the  Bar,  having 
the  most  lucrative  practice  in  the  state,  and  was  considered  by  some  the  ablest 
lawyer  Connecticut  had  produced.  He  showed  his  dominant  life  interest  when 
an  undergraduate,  his  Commencement  Oration  being  "on  the  Genius  of  a  Free 
Government." 

The  letter,  written  from  New  Haven,  in  May,  1834,  is  addressed  to 
Truman  Smith  (B.A.  1815),  then  United  States  Senator.  It  has  this  reference 
to  the  battle  that  was  being  waged  around  President  Jackson  in  his  opposition 
to  the  rechartering  of  the  United  States  Bank,  and  to  the  Nullification 
Ordinances : 

The  Resolutions  reported  to  the  General  Assembly  by  the  joint  committee  on 
that  part  of  the  Governor's  message  relating  to  the  Proceedings  of  the  President  in 
regard  to  the  Bank,  the  Senate  &c  were  adopted  yesterday  by  the  House  of  Repass 
by  a  vote  of  148  to  45,  and  this  afternoon  in  the  Senate  by  a  vote  of  16  to  5.  The 
4th  Resolution  specifying  various  particulars  in  which  the  President  "has  infringed 
the  fundamental  principles  of  our  government"  &c  was  passed  with  only  two 
dissenting  voices 


Feancis  Wharton  (Class  of  1839),  Born,  1820;  Died,  1889. 

Dr.  Wharton  had  a  varied  career.  He  began  by  being  a  lawyer,  then 
became  Professor  of  Logic,  Rhetoric,  English  Literature  and  History  at 
Kenyon  College,  following  this  by  several  years'  service  as  rector  of  a  church 
in  Massachusetts,  and  by  filling  for  fifteen  years  the  professorship  of 
Ecclesiastical  Polity,  Homiletics,  and  Pastoral  Care  at  the  Episcopal  Theo- 
logical School  in  Cambridge.  During  the  last  four  years  of  his  life  he  was 
Solicitor  of  the  State  Department.  In  spite  of  these  very  different 
occupations,  he  was  engaged  throughout  his  professional  life  in  writing  legal 
works  of  learning  and  permanent  value.  These  began  in  1846  with  his  Treatise 
on  the  Criminal  Law  of  the  United  States.  He  also  wrote  volumes  on  the  Law 
of  Homicide,  Medical  Jurisprudence,  the  Law  of  Contracts,  etc,  but  his 
greatest  work  was  his  standard  three-volume  Digest  of  the  International  Law 
of  the  United  States.     He  also  edited  the  six  volumes  of  the  Revolutionary 

7  New  Haven  Colony  Historical  Society  Papers,  Vol.  IV,  p.  370. 

[284] 


LAWYERS  AND  JURISTS— SUPPLEMENTARY  NAMES 

Diplomatic  Correspondence  of  the  United  States,  which  is  prefaced  by  an 
obituary  notice  prepared  by  John  Bassett  Moore,  recently  of  the  State 
Department.  He  was  a  man  of  remarkable  ability  and  of  real  nobility  of 
character. 

He  writes  enclosing  a  legal  article  for  publication,  apparently  in  the 
Encyclopcedia  Americana.  "It  gives  the  prevalent  doctrines  on  the  topics 
discussed  in  Judge  Story's  book  &  my  book  on  the  Conflict  of  laws,  &  in  the 
treatises  on  the  same  topic  of  Savigny  &  Bar." 


David  Josiah  Brewer  (Class  of  1856),  Born,  1837;  Died,  1910. 

Justice  Brewer  was  the  son  of  a  Yale  missionary  in  Asia  Minor,  Josiah 
Brewer  (B.A.  1821).  His  college  career  was  mainly  marked  by  high  scholar- 
ship. He  was  a  Philosophical  Oration  man,  and  won  prizes  in  Latin,  mathe- 
matics, and  astronomy.  Soon  after  his  admission  to  the  Bar,  he  removed  to 
Kansas,  where  he  rose  through  various  public  offices  to  be  Associate  Justice 
of  the  State  Supreme  Court,  and  later  Judge  of  the  United  States  Circuit 
Court.  From  this  he  was  transferred  by  President  Harrison,  in  1889,  to  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  where  he  had  Yale  company  with  his 
classmate,  Henry  Billings  Brown,  and  with  George  Shiras  (B.A.  1853). 
During  his  twenty-one  years'  membership  in  this  highest  of  tribunals,  he  wrote 
over  seven  hundred  opinions,  many  of  them  having  a  large  influence,  such  as 
that  upholding  the  Federal  Government's  right  of  interfering  directly  to 
insure  the  transmission  of  the  mails  and  to  prevent  obstruction  to  interstate 
commerce,  handed  down  at  the  time  of  the  Chicago  railroad  strike.  His 
decisions  were  noted  for  their  independence,  and  for  their  liberal  humanitarian 
tendencies.  In  addition  to  his  career  on  the  Bench,  Justice  Brewer  was  a 
national  figure  as  a  citizen,  and  was  identified  with  a  large  number  of 
educational,  philanthropic,  and  religious  movements.  He  rendered  important 
service  as  presiding  officer  of  the  Venezuelan  Boundary  Commission,  appointed 
by  President  Cleveland.  An  evidence  of  the  regard  in  which  he  was  held  is 
the  fact  that  seven  representative  institutions  of  learning,  in  different  parts 
of  the  country,  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws. 

The  letter  is  a  brief  one  to  the  editor  acknowledging  receipt  of  certain 
material  which  Justice  Brewer  desired  in  preparing  his  Bicentennial  Address. 
This  latter  contained  these  memorable  words,  which  the  orator's  own  experience 
enabled  him  to  utter  with  special  conviction : 

Wisely  did  the  ten  Congregational  ministers  lay  the  foundations  of  Yale.  They 
searched  the  horizon,  and  planned  for  immortality.     With  clear  eye  they  saw  that 

[285] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

the  two  great  institutions  by  which  society  is  moved  and  humanity  lifted  up  are  the 
Church  and  the  State,  and  they  purposed  that  the  new  College  should  train  for 
service  in  them 

She  was  the  first  educational  institution  in  the  world  to  make  the  fitting  for 
public  service  the  expressed  and  dominant  purpose  of  her  educational  work.  In 
this  country  the  two  earlier  colleges  were  Harvard,  in  Massachusetts,  and  William 
and  Mary,  in  Virginia.  In  neither  of  their  charters  is  there  any  recognition  of 
public  service  as  the  purpose  of  their  lives  or  training.  Even  if  similar  language 
be  found  in  the  charters  of  educational  institutions  across  the  waters  prior  to  that 
time,  it  must  be  remembered  that  public  service  there  meant  service  of  the  monarch. 
So  it  may  fairly  be  claimed  that  Yale  was  the  first  educational  institution  in  the 
world  to  make  training  for  service  of  the  public  the  supreme  object  of  her  life 
and  work. 

What  a  noble,  inspiring  purpose !  True  service  of  the  public  is  not  mere  office- 
seeking  or  office-holding,  for  either  of  them  may  go  with  the  poorest  kind  of  service 
and  with  constant  thought  of  private  gain  or  personal  ambition.  It  is  a  striving 
to  promote  the  interests  of  the  great  body  of  the  people;  a  seeking  of  the  general 
welfare;  an  effort  to  make  the  lives  of  all  sweeter,  purer,  nobler;  it  is  service  of 
the  public  and  for  the  public* 

8  Yale  Bicentennial  Celebration,  pp.  380,  381. 


[286] 


CHAPTER  IX 

PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS 

I.     THE  UNIVERSITY'S  CONTRIBUTION  TO  PATRIOTISM 

The  term  patriot  has  been  generally  applied  to  men  who  have 
served  their  nation  with  valor  in  time  of  war.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
as  peace  between  nations  becomes  more  general  the  definition  of  the 
word  may  be  broadened,  for  today  it  is  accepted  as  a  commonplace 
that  patriotism  may  be  evidenced  bj^  devotion  to  high  public  ideals  in 
any  profession  and  at  any  time.  But,  adopting  the  customary  usage, 
we  shall  find  that  Yale's  contribution  of  men  who  have  successfully 
fought  for  the  cause  of  liberty  has  been  a  conspicuous  one. 

The  nation  has  been  engaged  in  two  military  conflicts  of  the  first 
rank — the  War  of  Independence  and  the  Civil  War — and  in  four 
lesser,  though  important,  struggles — the  French  and  Indian  wars,  the 
War  of  1812,  the  Mexican  War,  and  the  Spanish  War. 

The  French  and  Indian  wars  are  included,  although  before  the 
formation  of  the  federal  government,  because  they  gave  the  colonies 
a  coherence  which  helped  later  to  develop  a  feeling  of  nationality,  and 
because  they  determined  finally  the  all-important  question  of  Anglo- 
Saxon  domination  on  the  continent.  The  Mexican  War  is  omitted 
from  detailed  consideration  as  it  did  not  represent  an  uprising  of  the 
entire  nation,  and  consequentlj^  did  not  draw  so  largely  as  our  other 
wars  upon  volunteer  troops,  in  which  university  men,  other  than  West 
Point  and  Annapolis  graduates,  have  the  largest  chance  to  become 
prominent.  Colonel  Henry  Rootes  Jackson  (B.A.  1839),  afterwards 
Brigadier  General  in  the  Confederate  Army,  and  American  ^linister 
to  Austria  and  Mexico,  and  Captain  Cassius  Marcellus  Clay  (B.A. 

[  287  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

1832),  whose  later  career  is  described  elsewhere  in  this  volume,  may 
be  taken  as  representative  Yale  officers  in  this  contest.  A  Yale  man. 
General  Phineas  Lyman  (B.A.  1738),  also  led  the  expedition  against 
Havana,  in  1762,  while  another.  General  John  Ashley  (B.A.  1758), 
commanded  in  the  most  severe  engagement  involved  in  suppressing 
Shays'  Rebellion.  The  long-drawn-out  conflicts  with  the  Indian  tribes 
of  the  West  have  mainly  engaged  the  regular  army,  but  it  is  interest- 
ing to  remember  that  Majors  John  Palsgrave  Wyllys  (B.A.  1773) 
and  Jonathan  Heart  (B.A.  1768),  of  the  first  American  regiment, 
were  among  the  earliest  officers  of  the  United  States  Army  to  render 
conspicuous  service  in  this  connection — both  giving  up  their  lives  on 
the  battle  field  to  meet  the  stern  necessities  of  advancing  civilization. 
These  examples  from  the  annals  of  our  minor  conflicts,  taken  with 
the  facts  to  be  presented  regarding  each  of  the  more  significant 
national  contests,  will,  it  is  believed,  make  a  Yale  record  for  patriotism 
that  no  American  university  can  surpass. 

Fkench  and  Indian  Wars 

One  of  the  ablest  colonial  leaders  in  this  contest  was  a  Yale 
graduate,  Phineas  Lyman  (B.A.  1738),  who  was  the  Commander- 
in-chief  in  many  of  the  most  important  engagements  from  1755  on, 
and  who,  in  1762,  was  in  charge  of  the  New  England  forces  engaged 
in  the  expedition  against  Havana.  His  military  record  was  con- 
spicuous for  bravery  and  skill.  The  total  number  of  Yale  men  who 
are  known  to  have  served  in  the  French  and  Indian  wars  was  about 
sixty.  The  list  includes  such  well-known  names  as  Colonel  David 
Wooster  (B.A.  1738) ,  Colonel  Eleazar  Fitch  (B.A.  1743) ,  Rev.  John 
Norton  (B.A.  1737),  the  "Redeemed  Captive,"  and  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Nathan  Whiting  (B.A.  1743) .  In  the  year  1756-1757,  when 
the  French  War  was  at  its  height,  there  were  about  five  hundred  and 
fifty  living  graduates  of  the  College.  Of  these  over  ten  per  cent 
had  entered  or  were  about  to  enter  the  military  force  of  the  colonies 
to  protect  them  against  their  northern  enemies.     This  required  an 

[288] 


THE  UNIVERSITY'S  CONTRIBUTION  TO  PATRIOTISM 

aggressive  campaign.  No  special  record  of  Yale's  services  in  these 
expeditions  has  been  published,  so  a  list  is  added'  of  those  graduates 
who  are  known  to  have  taken  part.  There  are  doubtless  some 
omissions,  but  the  number  as  given  at  least  shows  the  patriotism  of 
the  college  men  of  the  time,  and  may  be  of  help  to  some  future 
historian. 

The  Revolutionary  War 

The  University  has  never  played  a  more  conspicuous  or  more 
admirable  part  in  American  history  than  it  did  at  the  time  of  the 
Revolution.  Yale  educated  four  of  the  members  of  the  Convention 
which  framed  the  national  Constitution,  and  the  same  number  of 

1  The  following  are  known  to  have  fought  at  Crown  Point,  Louisburg,  Ticonderoga,  or 
other  battles,  or  to  have  belonged  to  regiments  raised  for  the  northern  campaigns  in  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  The  list  has  been  prepared  from  the  biographies  in  Dexter, 
Yale  B.  and  A. 

1718    Timothy  Collins,  Surgeon  1743     Nathan  De Wolf,  Commissary 
1721     William  Brintnall,  Captain  Eleazar  Fitch,  Colonel 

1724  Simon  Backus,  Chaplain  Nathan  Whiting,  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Nathaniel  Farrand,  Captain  1744     Leverett  Hubbard,  Surgeon 
Ashbel  Woodbridge,  Chaplain  1745    James  Beebe,  Chaplain 

1725  Gurdon  Saltonstall,  Commissary  Elihu  Lyman,  Commissary 

1726  John  Whiting,  Colonel  Nathanael  Taylor,  Chaplain 

1728  George  Beckwith,  Chaplain  1746     John  Brainerd,  Chaplain 
John  Patterson,  Lieutenant  Elihu  Spencer,  Chaplain 

1729  George  Wyllys,  Lieutenant  Colonel  1747     Chauncey  Graham,  Chaplain 

1730  Israel  Ashley,  Surgeon  Oliver  Wolcott,  Captain 

1731  Elihu  Hall,  Captain  1748     John  Ogilvie,  Chaplain 
Alexander  Wolcott,  Surgeon  James  Wadsworth,  Captain 

1732  Seth  Field,  Captain  1749     Gideon  Hawley,  Chaplain 
Timothy  Woodbridge,  Chaplain  Joseph  Strong,  Chaplain 

1733  Benjamin  Pomeroy,  Chaplain  ^'^^^     Ebenezer  Dyer,  Commissary 
Samuel  Talcott,  Colonel  Isaac  Isaacs,  Captain 

1736  Joseph  Farnsworth,  Surgeon  Elihu  Tudor,  Surgeon 
Jonathan  IngersoU,  Chaplain                         ^''^^     ^^^^^  Russell,  Captain 

1737  Mark  Leavenworth,  Chaplain  YLf     Henry  Babcock,  Captain 

John  Norton,  Chaplain  ^^^^    '^''""    I^*^'   Aide-de-camp   and   Commis- 

1738  Phineas  Lyman,  Major  General  ,«►<:     t^u^^I     u*       t  •     i. 
David  Wooster,  Captain  \lf,     "J^tn  ^toughton  Lieutenant 

TT/in     4/i„„;;   un-A      n   r-u      i   •  '■'^'     Lbenezer  Case,  Lieutenant 

1740     Adonij  ah  Bidwell,  Chaplain  z^„^3  Huggins,  Private 

^nA.^     flf^^J^t  Dyer,  Colonel  1753  Ambrose  Collins,  Chaplain 

Ml    J«hn  Herpin  Commissary  1759  Nathaniel  Hubbard,  Surgeon 

1742  Samuel  Fitch,  Lieutenant  1750  Eliakim  Fish,  Surgeon's  xMate 
Joseph  Hawley,  Chaplain  Ebenezer  Jesup,  Surgeon 
Jonathan  Lee,  Chaplain  1765  Theophilus  Chamberlain* 

1743  David  Burr,  Lieutenant  1770  Andrew  Hillyer* 

(Elisha  Williams,  Rector  of  Yale  College  from  1725  to  1739,  was  Colonel  of  the  proiected  but 
abortive  Canadian  Expedition  of  1746.) 

*  Private  in  the  war  prior  to  entering  college, 

[289] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence" — Philip  Livingston 
(B.A.  1737)  and  Lewis  Morris  (1746),  of  New  York,  Oliver 
Wolcott  (B.A.  1747),  of  Connecticut,  and  Lyman  Hall  (B.A. 
1747),  of  Georgia.  The  name  of  William  I^ivingston  (B.A.  1741), 
of  New  Jersey,  would  have  been  added  had  not  militarj^  duties  caused 
his  absence  from  the  Convention,  to  which  he  was  dulj^  elected.^ 
When  the  war  with  the  mother  country  was  begun  at  Lexington,  in 
1775,  there  were  about  nine  hundred  living  Yale  graduates.*  Of 
these  one-fourth  (234)^  rendered  some  service  in  the  Continental 
Army.  The  achievements  of  these  men  have  been  commemorated  in 
Professor  Johnston's  admirable  volume,  Yale  and  her  Honor-Boll  in 
the  American  Revolution,  often  referred  to  in  these  pages.  Twelve 
of  them  reached  the  rank  of  General : 

Joshua  Babcock  (B.A.  1724),  Major  General,  Rhode  Island  Militia. 
Gurdon  Saltonstall  (B.A.  1725),  Brigadier  General,  Connecticut  Militia. 
David  Wooster  (B.A.  1738),  Brigadier  General,  Continental  Army. 
Jabez  Huntington  (B.A.  1741),  Major  General,  Connecticut  Militia. 
William  Livingston  (B.A.  1741),  Brigadier  General,  New  Jersey  Militia. 
Lewis  Morris  (B.A.  1746),  Brigadier  General,  New  York  Militia. 
John  Morin  Scott  (B.A.  1746),  Brigadier  General,  New  York  Troops. 
Oliver  Wolcott  (B.A.  1747),  Major  General,  Connecticut  Troops. 
James  Wadsworth  (B.A.  1748),  Major  General,  Connecticut  Militia. 
Gold  Selleck  Silliman  (B.A.  1752),  Brigadier  General,  Connecticut  Militia. 
Timothy  Danielson  (B.A.  1756),  Brigadier  General,  Massachusetts  Militia. 
John  Paterson  (B.A.  1762),  Brigadier  General,  Continental  Army. 

Among  the  other  officers  of  high  rank  and  distinguished  services  were 
William  Hull  (B.A.  1772),  Lieutenant  Colonel  in  the  Continental 
Army,  whose  bravery  at  the  storming  of  Stony  Point  and  in  many 
battles  led  Washington  to  invite  him  "as  an  officer  of  great  merit"^ 
to  become  one  of  his  aides.  Lieutenant  Colonel  David  Humphreys 

2  Oliver  Wolcott  (q.v.)  was  the  most  distinguished  of  the  Yale  Signers.  It  is  interesting 
to  note  that  of  these  fifty-six  "Immortals"  twenty-six  were  college  men,  divided  as  follows: 
Harvard,  8;  Yale,  4;  William  and  Mary,  College  of  Philadelphia,  and  Cambridge,  3  each; 
Princeton  and  Edinburgh,  2  each;  and  French  Colleges,  1.  This  gives  the  college  men  (without 
counting  those  who  studied  law  at  the  Temple  in  London)  almost  one-half  of  the  body,  while 
several  of  the  remainder,  especially  from  among  the  southern  representatives,  received  a 
classical  education  in  their  own  homes. 

3  Johnston,  Yale  in  the  American  Rei'olution,  p.  188. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  1.       5  Ibid.,  p.  349.       6  Ibid.,  p.  279. 

[290] 


THE  UNIVERSITY'S  CONTRIBUTION  TO  PATRIOTISM 

(B.A.  1771),  Washington's  intimate  friend  and  Aide-de-camp,  and 
probably  the  most  prominent,  next  to  Wooster,  of  Yale's  Revolu- 
tionary officers.  Colonel  Daniel  Hitchcock  (B.A.  1761),  of  the 
Continental  Army,  whose  brilliant  services  at  the  battle  of  Princeton 
were  recognized  by  the  Commander-in-chief,^  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Ebenezer  Huntington  (B.A.  1775),  appointed  Brigadier  General  of 
the  regular  army  in  1799,  and  Benjamin  Tallmadge  (B.A.  1773), 
Major  of  the  Continental  Dragoons,  who  managed  the  secret  service 
for  General  Washington  with  marked  success.  It  is  not  so  much  the 
high  military  positions  that  these  men  held  as  their  spirit  of  self- 
sacrifice  that  Yale  most  honors.  It  was  the  spirit  immortalized  by 
Captain  Nathan  Hale,  of  the  Class  of  1773,  whose  dying  words  will 
specially  inspire  the  youth  of  Yale  to  the  end  of  time:  "I  only  regret 
that  I  have  but  one  life  to  lose  for  my  country." 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  know  that  the  officers  of  the  institution  and 
the  student  body  so  shared  the  patriotic  feeling  of  the  period,  in  fact, 
did  so  much  to  create  it,  that  the  most  bitter  of  the  small  group  of 
graduates  who  were  loyalists  could  pay  his  Alma  Mater  the  tribute 
involved  in  his  taunt  that  Yale  was  "a  nursery  of  sedition,  of  faction, 
and  republicanism."^ 

War  or  1812 

It  is  difficult  to  state  exactly  how  many  graduates  served  in  this 
second  conflict  with  England,  but  the  military  records  of  sixty-five 
have  been  traced,  and,  as  not  heretofore  brought  together,  are  added 
in  a  footnote.^     The  most  conspicuous  names  are  those  of  Generals 

7  Ibid.,  p.  61. 

8  Judge  Thomas  Jones  (B.A.  1750),    Ibid.,  p.  99. 

9  This  list  includes  only  graduates.  Among  the  prominent  non-graduate  officers  was 
Colonel  Joseph  Lee  Smith,  whose  son  became  the  famous  Confederate  leader,  General  E. 
Kirby  Smith.  The  information  from  which  this  list  has  been  prepared  has  been  mostly  secured 
from  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A. 

1771  David   Humphreys,  Brigadier  General,  Connecticut  Militia. 

1772  William  HuU,  Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  A. 
Moses  C.  Welch,  Chaplain,  U.  S.  A. 

1774     Aaron  Jordan  Bogue,  Chaplain. 

1776  Augustine  Taylor,  Major  General,  Connecticut  Militia. 

1777  Jared  Mansfield,  Lieutenant  Colonel,  U.  S.  A. 

1782     John  Lovett,  Military  Secretary  to  General  Van  Rensselaer. 

[291] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Hull  and  Porter.  The  former's  reputation  has  suffered,  partly 
because  he  was  made  a  scapegoat  to  "save  the  face"  of  an  adminis- 
tration which  had  not  been  successful  in  adequately  supporting  its 
officers  at  the  front.  His  surrender  of  Detroit  is  now  believed,  by 
competent  historians,  to  have  been  not  without  some  justification. 
His  judgment  is  questioned  by  many,  his  patriotism  and  personal 
bravery  by  none.  General  Peter  Buell  Porter  (B.A.  1791)  rendered 
such  signal  service  in  the  war  that  his  biography  is  included.    A  study 

9  (Continued.) 

1785  Joseph  Badger,  Brigadier  Chaplain  and  Postmaster,  U.  S.  A. 
Samuel  Huntington,  Colonel,  U.  S.  A. 

Decius  Wadsworth,  Colonel,  U.  S.  A. 

1786  Isaac  Maltby,  Brigadier  General,  Massachusetts  Militia. 

Jacob  R.  Van  Rensselaer,  Lieutenant  Colonel,  New  York  Militia. 

1787  Elisha  Sterling,  Major  General,  Connecticut  Militia. 

1788  John  Salter,  Colonel,  Connecticut  Militia. 

1790  Benjamin  Wooster,  Captain,  New  York  Militia. 

1791  Peter  Buell  Porter,  Major  General,  U.  S.  A. 

1795  George  Tod,  Major  and  Lieutenant  Colonel,  U.  S.  A. 

1796  Ruggles  Hubbard,  Captain. 

1797  Jirah  Isham,  Brigadier  General,  Connecticut  Militia. 

1799  Henry  Meigs,  Adjutant,  New  York  Militia. 

1800  Pitkin  Cowles,  Chaplain,  Connecticut  Militia. 
Henn.'  Smith,  Private,  U.  S.  A. 

Chauncey  Whittelsey,  Brigadier  General,  Connecticut  Militia. 

1801  William  Van  Deursen,  Captain,  U.  S.  A. 

1802  Jesup  N.  Couch,  Aide-de-camp  to  Governor  Meigs  (B.A.  1785). 
Nathan  Johnson,  Captain,  Connecticut  Militia. 

Ebenezer  Moseley,  Colonel,  Massachusetts  Militia. 

1803  George  Hall,  Chaplain,  U.  S.  A. 
Jacob  Bond  I'On,  Captain,  U.  S.  A. 
Jared  Scarborough,  Captain,  Cavalry  Corps. 
William  A.  Taylor,  "in  servnce." 

1804  Sumner  Ely,  Captain,  New  York  Militia. 
John  M,  Felder,  Major,  South  Carolina  Militia. 
George  Plummer,  Brigade  Major,  Connecticut  Militia. 
Jeremiah  Vanderbilt,  Major,  New  York  Militia. 
Charles  H.  Wetmore,  Surgeon,  New  York  Militia. 

1805  Ebenezer  Gray,  1st  Lieutenant,  U.  S.  A. 

1806  Henry  Carleton,  Lieutenant,  U.  S.  A. 

Samuel  S.  Conner,  Lieutenant  Colonel,  U.  S.  A. 

James  Gadsden,  2d  Lieutenant,  U.  S.  A. 

Charles  H.  Havens,  Surgeon,  New  York  Militia. 

Alfred  Hennen,  Corporal,  U.  S.  A. 

James  Root,  "active  participant  in  the  War  of  1812." 

1807  Henry  W.  Channing,  Major,  New  York  Militia. 
John  L.  Tomlinson,  Lieutenant,  Connecticut  Militia. 

1808  Timothy  Phelps  Beers,  Surgeon,  Connecticut  Militia. 
Jonathan  E.  Chaplin,  Aide-de-camp  to  General  Porter,  U.  S.  A. 
Joseph  Delafield,  Major,  U.  S.  A. 

John  B.  Murdock,  1st  Lieutenant  and  Brevet  Major,  U.  S.  A. 
Septimus  Tyler,  Captain,  U.  S.  A. 

1809  Hezeklah  B.  Chaffee,  "saw  active  service"  in  New  York  Militia, 
Hugh  Robinson,  New  York  State  Militiaman. 

Alexander  Wolcott,  Surgeon's  Mate,  U.  S.  A. 

[292] 


THE  UNIVERSITY'S  CONTRIBUTION  TO  PATRIOTISM 

of  the  positions  held  by  the  Yale  men  who  took  part,  from  Hull 
and  Porter  down,  shows  an  active  spirit  of  patriotism  among  the 
graduates. 

The  Civil  War 

The  part  played  by  Yale  men  in  helping  to  save  the  Union  is  so 
well  described  in  the  volume"  published  by  the  College  at  the  close 
of  the  war  that  there  is  no  need  of  entering  into  details  here.  The 
roll  of  honor,  although  incomplete,  gave  the  record  of  five  hundred 
and  fifty-one  graduates,  and  of  two  hundred  and  seven  non-graduates, 
who  served  in  the  northern  army,  the  large  number  of  the  latter  being 
due  to  the  fact  that  this  was  preeminently  a  young  man's  war,  and 
that  consequently  scores  of  undergraduates  left  their  studies  and  were 
unable  to  return  later  for  a  degree.  But  the  army  contained  repre- 
sentatives of  all  ages.  It  is  worthy  of  record  that  the  earliest  graduate 
on  the  list  was  the  poet  and  reformer.  Chaplain  John  Pierpont  (B.A. 
1804),  while  the  last  named  in  the  College  is  "Sergeant  Henry  P. 
Wright"  (B.A.  1868),  then  a  student,  afterwards  the  honored  Dean. 
Over  a  hundred  Yale  men  were  killed  or  died  of  wounds  during  the 
contest  on  the  northern,  and  about  fifty  on  the  southern  side." 

There  were  approximately  four  thousand  five  hundred  living 
graduates^^  and  students  when  the  war  broke  out.  Of  these  about 
fifteen  per  cent  engaged  in  the  struggle. 

9  (Continued.) 

1810  Ethan  Allen  Andrews,  Aide-de-camp  to  General  Lusk,  Connecticut  Militia. 
Dyar  T.  Brainard,  Surgeon,  Connecticut  Militia. 

Luther  Spaulding,  Hospital  Assistant,  Connecticut  Militia. 

1811  Samuel  B.  Northrop,  Captain,  U.  S.  A. 
Samuel  Shethar  Phelps,  Paymaster,  U.  S.  A. 
Frederick  A.  Tallmadge,  Captain,  New  York  Militia. 

1812  George  Bliss,  Aide-de-camp  to  General  Bliss,  Massachusetts  Militia. 
Theodore  Dexter,  Hospital  Surgeon,  U.  S.  A. 

Isaac  Trimble  Preston,  Captain,  U.  S.  A. 
William  Rumsey,  "service  in  the  army." 
Caleb  S.  Woodhull,  "service  in  the  army." 

1813  David  Bates  Douglass,  Captain,  U.  S.  A. 

10  The  Commemorative  Celebration,  held  at  Yale  College,  Wednesday,  July  26,  1865. 

11  Their  names  are  to  be  inscribed  on  tablets  in  Memorial  Hall.    For  preliminary  list  see 
Tale  Alumni  Weekly,  March  11,  1910. 

12  The    Catalogue    of    Officers    and    Graduates,    of    1859,    shows    3,915    living    graduates, 
excluding  honorary  degree  recipients. 

[293] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

The  following  graduates  and  non-graduates  rose  to  the  rank  of 
General  in  the  Union  Army: 

Daniel  Ullmann  (B.A.  1829),  Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  V. 

James  S.  Wadsworth  (Class  of  1830,  Law  School),  Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  V. 
Alpheus  Starkey  Williams  (B.A.  1831),  Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  V. 
Cassius  Marcellus  Clay  (B.A.  1832),  Major  General,  U.  S.  V. 
William  Henry  Noble  (B.A.  1832),  Brevet  Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  V. 
Henry  W.  Benham  (Class  of  1836),  Brevet  Major  General,  U.  S.  V. 
Lewis  Baldwin  Parsons  (B.A.  1840),  Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  V. 
William  Birney  (Class  of  1841),'^  Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  V. 
Theodore  Runyon  (B.A.  1842),  Major  General,  U.  S.  V. 
Charles  Henry  Crane  (B.A.  1844),  Surgeon  General,  U.  S.  A. 
Orris  Sanford  Ferry  (B.A.  1844),  Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  V. 
Henry  Beebee  Carrington  (B.A.  1845),  Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  V. 
William  Burnham  Woods   (B.A.  1845),  Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  V. 
Henry  Case  (B.A.  1846),  Brevet  Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  V. 
Alfred  Howe  Terry  (Class  of  1849,  Law  School),  Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  A., 
Major  General,  U.  S.  V. 

John  Willock  Noble  (B.A.  1851),  Brevet  Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  V. 

Albert  Webb  Bishop  (B.A.  1853),  Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  V. 

Edward  Harland  (B.A.  1853),  Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  V. 

James  Clay  Rice  (B.A.  1854),  Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  V. 

Stewart  L.  Woodford  (B.A.  1854),  Brevet  Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  V. 

Lewis  M.  Dayton  (Class  of  1855,  Graduate  School),  Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  A. 

Wager  Swayne  (B.A.  1856),  Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  V. 

John  Thomas  Croxton  (B.A.  1857),  Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  V. 

Charles  L.  Fitzhugh  (Class  of  1859),  Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  V. 

Horatio  Jenkins,  Jr.  (Class  of  1861),  Brevet  Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  V. 

Among  the  graduates  of  lower  official  rank  who  distinguished 
themselves,  and  who  were  killed  in  the  war,  were:  Major  Theodore 
Winthrop  (B.A.  1848) ,  whose  early  death  in  action  created  a  national 
impression,  Captain  William  Wheeler  (B.A.  1855),  an  ideal  officer 
who  lost  his  life  under  circumstances  of  conspicuous  bravery,  brilliant 
Major  Edward  Blake  (B.A.  1858),  killed  at  Cedar  Mountain,  and 
Major  Henry  Camp  (B.A.  1860),  known  to  manj^  from  Henry  Clay 
Trumbull's  biography  as  The  Knightly  Soldier,  of  w^hom  Horace 
Bushnell  said:    "My  impression  of  him  is  that  I  have  never  known  so 

13  Major  General  Francis  P.  Blair,  Jr.,  was  a  member  of  this  class,  but  graduated  from 
Princeton. 

[29i] 


THE  UNIVERSITY'S  CONTRIBUTION  TO  PATRIOTISM 

much  of  worth,  and  beauty,  and  truth  and  massive  majesty — so  much, 
in  a  word,  of  all  kinds  of  promise — embodied  in  any  young  person."^* 
He  was  of  the  same  fibre  as  Nathan  Hale,  and  was  capable  of  a  like 
sacrifice. 

The  following  reached  the  rank  of  General  in  the  Confederate 
Army: 

William  H.  T.  Walker  (Class  of  1839,  Law  School),  Major  General. 

James  Camp  Tappan  (B.A.  1845),  Brigadier  General. 

Richard  Taylor  (B.A.  1845),  Major  General. 

Isaac  Munroe  St.  John  (B.A.  1845),  Brigadier  General. 

Randall  Lee  Gibson  (B.A.  1853),  Major  General. 

James  Edward  Rains  (B.A.  1854),  Brigadier  General. 

But  as  in  the  Union  Army,  so  here,  much  of  the  truest  bravery  was 
shown  by  officers  of  lower  rank.  Of  these  Colonel  William  Preston 
Johnston  (B.A.  1852) ,  of  Jefferson  Davis'  staff,  and  Colonel  William 
T.  S.  Barry  (Class  of  1841),  who,  after  being  President  of  the 
Mississippi  Secession  Convention,  raised  a  regiment  and  served  as 
its  Colonel  throughout  the  war,  may  be  taken  as  representative. 

A  Yale  poet,  Francis  Miles  Finch  (q.v.),  himself  a  strong 
Union  supporter,  has  given  classic  expression  in  "The  Blue  and  the 
Gray"  to  the  spirit  in  which  the  University  is  about  to  show  its  respect 
in  the  Civil  War  Memorial  to  the  men  who  lost  their  lives  in  the  great 
conflict : 

No  more  shall  the  war-cry  sever. 

Or  the  winding  rivers  be  red: 
They  banish  our  anger  forever 

When  they  laurel  the  graves  of  our  dead ! 
Under  the  sod  and  the  dew, 

Waiting  the  Judgment  Day: — 
Love  and  tears  for  the  Blue; 
Tears  and  love  for  the  Gray. 

The  sons  of  Yale  are  thankful  that  its  officers  and  the  large  majority 
of  its  graduates  were  on  the  side  of  the  Union.  But  thej^  do  not 
withhold  the  meed  of  respect  to  all  who  fought  bravely  even  unto 
death  for  what  they  believed  to  be  right. 

14  The  Commemorative  Celebration,  p.  30. 

[295  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

In  national  political  statesmanship  during  the  crisis  Yale  was 
not  specially  conspicuous,  but  it  was  not  a  time  when  college  graduates 
were  found  so  largely  in  public  life  as  they  are  today.  The  nation's 
best  blood  and  highest  intellect  were  going  into  literature,  commerce, 
and  the  professions,  thereby  helping  to  inspire  and  develop  the 
expanding  country.  It  was  a  time  of  readjustment,  but  this  did 
not  prevent  a  magnificent  stream  of  youth,  not  surpassed  in  any 
college  in  the  land,  pouring  out  from  the  walls  of  Yale  to  defend 
their  countrj^  and  no  college  gave  them  more  inspiring  help  from 
the  pulpit.  Horace  Bushnell  (B.A.  1827)  and  Leonard  Bacon 
(B.A.  1820)  became  towers  of  national  strength,  but  there  were 
scores  and  scores,  yes,  hundreds,  of  Yale  pastors  scattered  through 
the  country  who  were  rendering  the  same  faithful  service  to  the  Union 
cause.  Among  them  were  the  members  of  the  Illinois  Band — a  group 
of  seven  graduates  of  the  Yale  Divinity  School  in  the  Class  of  1829 — 
whose  work,  according  to  Abraham  Lincoln,  determined  the  issue  of 
the  struggle  between  the  forces  of  slavery  and  of  freedom  in  that 
pivotal  state.^^ 

Spanish-American  War 

Over  three  hundred  Yale  men  are  known  to  have  enlisted  in  the 
Spanish-American  War.  Of  these  two  hundred  and  fifteen  were 
graduates  (including  a  few  prominent  non-graduates)  and  eighty- 
five  students.  Seven  men — among  them  such  fine  young  officers  and 
representative  alumni  as  Ward  Cheney  (B.A.  1896),  Theodore 
Miller  (B.A.  1897),  and  Augustus  Ledyard  (B.A.  1898),  all  of 
whom  have  had  memorials  erected  to  them  on  the  grounds  of  the 
University — lost  their  lives  in  the  service,  either  during  the  war  or 
in  the  pacification  of  the  Philippines  in  the  j^ears  immediately 
following.  A  record  of  the  military  careers  of  the  graduates  in  this 
contest  has  been  published,'"  so  details  here  are  unnecessary.    About 

15  Yale  Bicentennial  Celebration,  p.  158. 

16  Yale  Alumni  Weekly,  Vol.  VIII,  pp.  315-334. 

[296] 


THE  UNIVERSITY'S  CONTRIBUTION  TO  PATRIOTISM 

one-third  of  them  (ninety-six)  were  commissioned  officers;  two  were 
Brigadier  Generals.  When  the  war  broke  out  the  total  number  of 
graduates  and  undergraduates  was  about  twelve  thousand  five 
hundred,  so  that  approximately  one  out  of  every  forty-two  eligible 
Yale  men  enlisted.  The  war  was  not  sufficiently  long  or  important 
to  draw  out  the  full  strength  of  the  alumni  body. 

This  survey  should  be  sufficient  to  serve  as  an  historical 
introduction  to  the  biographies  of  individual  patriots  which  follow. 
It  will  show  that  the  careers  specially  commemorated  are  merely 
representative  in  character. 


[297] 


II.     REPRESENTATIVE   BIOGRAPHIES,  WITH  LETTERS 

Phineas  Lyman 
Class  of  1738 

Born, ,  1716;  Died,  September  10, 1774 

General  in  French  and  Indian  Wars 

The  fame  of  Phineas  Lyman,  which  once  extended  to  every 
New  England  village,  is  now  confined  to  students  of  colonial  histoiy. 
His  military  capacity  and  his  services  in  protecting  the  colonies  in 
the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  which  helped  to  insure  Anglo- 
Saxon  supremacy  in  North  America,  entitle  him  to  our  grateful 
recognition.  A  full  length  portrait  can  hardly  be  painted  with  the 
materials  at  command,  but  we  can,  at  least,  sketch  in  bold  outlines 
the  life  and  character  of  this  early  patriot. 

Born  in  Durham,  Connecticut,  and  brought  up  to  the  trade  of  a 
weaver,  he  was  fitted  for  college  by  the  father  of  President  Stiles 
(Isaac  Stiles,  B.A.  1722),  who  was  pastor  of  the  North  Haven 
Church,  and  had  also  learned  the  weaver's  trade  as  a  youth. 
In  the  absence  of  specific  information  regarding  his  undergraduate 
career,  the  following  quotations  from  contemporary  Corporation 
records  are  inserted  as  they  throw  light  on  the  conditions  of  student 
life  in  his  time : 

Voted,  that  no  student  Graduate  nor  Undergraduate  in  Yale  College  shall  play 
at  Chards  and  if  any  Person  brings  in  a  Pack  of  Chards  he  shall  pay  a  Fine  not 
exceeding  five  shillings  and  if  any  play  at  Chards  they  shall  pay  a  Fine  not 
exceeding  three  shillings 

It  having  been  observed,  that  on  Commencement  Occasions,  there  is  a  great 
expense  in  spirituous  distilled  Liquors  in  College,  which  is  justly  offensive.  For 
the  prevention  hereof  It  is  agreed  &  voted  by  the  Trustees,  that  for  the  future  no 
Candidate  for  a  Degree,  nor  any  undergraduate  Student  shall  provide  or  allow  any 
Brandy  Rum  or  other  Spirituous  distilled  Liquors  to  be  drunk  in  his  Chamber 
during  the  week  of  the  Commencem*. 

Voted,  that  the  Ashes,  Wood-pile-Dung  &  Sweepings  of  the  College  be  reserved, 

[298] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— PHINEAS  LYMAN 

to  be  disi^osed  of,  for  the  sole  Use  &  Benefit  of  the  College,  according  to  the  Orders 
of  the  Governours  thereof,  from  time  to  time.^ 

Lyman  was  intimately  connected  with  Yale  for  nearlj^  eight 
successive  years,  four  years  as  an  undergraduate,  with  a  high  record 
as  a  student,  one  as  Berkelej'^  Scholar,  and  three  as  tutor.  This  latter 
position  he  held  "with  much  reputation,"^  his  classmate,  Chauncey 
Whittelsey,  being  for  most  of  the  time  his  only  colleague.  It  is 
interesting  to  think  of  a  Yale  Facultj^  consisting  of  one  permanent 
officer,  the  President,  and  of  two  temporary  officers  or  tutors,  yet 
such  was  the  condition  during  much  of  the  time  in  the  College's  first 
half  century.  Lyman  graduated  under  Rector  Williams,  whose 
patriotism  was  also  soon  to  be  shown  by  his  being  chosen  to  command 
an  expedition  against  Canada.  The  former  always  maintained  a  deep 
interest  in  his  Alma  Mater,  making  generous  subscriptions  to  meet 
her  needs  in  such  matters  as  the  professorship  of  Divinity,  and  the 
erection  of  a  new  president's  house.  On  leaving  the  tutorship  he 
entered  upon  the  practice  of  law  in  Suffield,  which  was  then  in 
Massachusetts,  but  was  restored  to  Connecticut,  largely  as  a  result 
of  his  arguments  and  appeals.  He  represented  the  community 
repeatedly  in  the  Connecticut  Assembly  and  in  the  Upper  House, 
and  had  the  largest  law  practice  in  the  Colony. 

In  1755,  he  began  his  seven  years  of  continuous  military  service 
in  the  French  and  Indian  wars,  bj^  his  appointment  as  Major  General 
and  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Connecticut  forces  sent  against 
Crown  Point.  William  Johnson,  of  New  York,  was  the  General  in 
charge  of  the  united  colonial  troops,  but  on  being  wounded,  the 
command  devolved  upon  Lyman,  who  acted  with  great  bravery, 
leading  his  men  under  heavy  fire.  Here  is  an  impartial  historian's 
estimate  of  what  he  accomplished : 

It  was  Lyman,  of  Connecticut,  who  for  five  long  hours  carried  on  the  fiercest 
conflict  then  on  record  in  colonial  history,  in  which  almost  the  entire  French  regular 

1  MS.  Corporation  Records,  September  13,   1734,  September  14,  1737,  and  September  12, 
1739. 

2Dwight,  Travels  (Edition  of  1823),  Vol.  I,  p.  272. 

[299] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

force  was  put  out  of  existence.  The  real  victor  did  not  have  even  the  satisfaction 
of  seeing  his  name  misspelled  in  the  "Gazette."  Johnson,  according  to  President 
Dwight,  had  the  ineffable  meanness  to  ignore  him  altogether  in  his  report,  and  to 
accept  the  honor  of  knighthood  for  the  victory  which  Lyman  had  won.  The 
histories  have  treated  Lyman  very  much  as  his  superior  officer  did.^ 

In  the  Stiles  papers  in  the  University  Library  is  General  Lyman's 
original  letter  to  Governor  Fitch  describing  the  battle.  From  it  the 
following  is  quoted: 

General  Johnson  was  shot  thro'  the  Thigh  near  the  Beginning  of  the  Battle,  & 
retired  to  his  Tent.  God  continued  my  Life  &  Health  thro'  the  whole,  altho',  in 
the  very  hottest  Fire,  I  was  obliged  to  go  thro'  the  whole  Party  engaged,  to  charge 
them  to  keep  the  Shot,  for  fear  the  Enemy  should  draw  away  our  Fire,  &  then  rush 
in  upon  us.  The  Bullets  whistled  very  briskly,  but  I  was  never  toutched,  nor  any 
Part  of  my  Cloaths.  I  believe  their  never  was  a  heavier  nor  hotter  Fight  in  this 
Country.* 

The  victory  was  considered  of  such  importance  in  preventing  a 
French  invasion,  that  Johnson  was  accorded  the  thanks  of  Parliament, 
and  a  grant  of  five  thousand  pounds,  in  addition  to  a  baronetcy,  was 
conferred  upon  him.  Lyman,  who  virtually  won  the  battle,  and 
whose  bravery  was  of  the  highest  character,  got  nothing  except  a 
reappointment  to  lead  Connecticut's  forces  the  next  two  years.  The 
size  of  the  armies  he  commanded  is  strikingly  large  in  view  of  the 
Commonwealth's  population.  In  the  years  from  1758  to  1760,  when 
Ticonderoga,  Crown  Point,  Fort  Louis  at  Oswego,  and  Montreal, 
were  captured  or  reduced,  his  forces  varied  from  four  to  five  thousand 
men.  In  1762,  he  was  in  command  of  the  entire  provincial  force 
engaged  in  the  reduction  of  Havana,  one  of  the  most  difficult  expedi- 
tions undertaken  in  colonial  times.  His  success,  in  spite  of  the  great 
loss  of  life,  still  further  increased  his  reputation  for  daring  and 
military  skill. 

The  survivors  of  the  Havana  expedition  deputed  General 
Lyman  to  act  for  them  in  securing  the  prize  money  due  from  the 
British  Government.    He  was  also  the  leader  in  a  movement  to  obtain 

3  Johnston,  History  of  Connecticut,  p.  260. 
*  Stiles  Papers,  Folio  Letters,  Vol.  I,  p.  303. 

[300] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— PFINEAS  LYIMAN 

from  the  same  source  a  large  tract  in  Mississippi  for  the  veterans  of 
the  French  War.  He  spent  almost  ten  years  in  England  trying  to 
effect  these  results.  In  the  first  he  was  unsuccessful,  but  he  succeeded 
in  obtaining  a  grant  of  land  twenty  miles  square,  and  the  company  of 
"Military  Adventurers"  under  his  lead  started  south,  and  finally 
settled  near  Natchez.    There  he  died  soon  after  his  arrival. 

The  elder  President  Dwight,  a  careful  student  of  our  early 
history,  believed  that  he  was  eminent  as  a  soldier,  and  that  he  was 
mainly  responsible  for  the  success  of  the  colonial  forces  at  the  Battle 
of  Lake  George.^  He  sums  up  his  impression  of  his  career  by 
saying,  "Few  Americans  have  a  better  claim  to  the  remembrance  of 
posterity."*'  There  is  no  memorial  to  him  at  the  University.  His 
son  (B.A.  1763)  showed  in  his  j^outh  something  of  the  father's  daunt- 
less spirit.  He  led  a  famous  college  "rebellion,"  when,  refusing  to 
comply  with  certain  orders  of  the  tutors,  he  put  on  his  hat  and  walked 
out  of  the  Hall,  shouting,  "Follow  on,  mj^  brave  boys!"^ 


The  autograph  is  a  brief  business  note  written  by  Lyman  to 
Thomas  Seymour  (B.A.  1755),  Lieutenant  Colonel  of  the  first 
Connecticut  cavalry  regiment  in  the  Revolution,  and  first  Mayor 
of  Hartford.  No  portrait  of  Lyman  is  known,  so  in  the  JNIemorial 
Hall  collection  the  place  of  the  usual  engraving  is  taken  by  the  repro- 
duction of  an  old  print  showing  the  most  important  engagement  in 
which  he  took  part  and  the  fort  named  in  his  honor. 

5  Dwight,  Travels  (Edition  of  1823),  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  349-352. 

6  Ibid.,  Vol.  I,  p.  271. 

7  See  under  Manasseh  Cutler. 


[301] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

David  Wooster 
Class  of  1738 

Born,  March  2,  1711;  Died,  May  2,  1777 
General  in  the  Revolutionary  Army 

No  American  military  officer  more  truly  deserves  the  designation 
of  "patriot"  than  Brigadier  General  Wooster.  He  played  a  distin- 
guished part  in  three  wars,  and  was  killed  in  action  while  engaged 
in  rallying  his  undisciplined  troops  in  resisting  the  British  raid  near 
Danbu^}^ 

He  was  born  in  what  is  now  Huntington,  Connecticut,  and  was 
the  j^oungest  of  the  seven  children  of  Abraham  Wooster,  a  mason, 
of  Derby.  The  necessity  of  aiding  to  secure  means  for  his  own 
education  was  apparently  the  reason  which  kept  him  from  entering 
Yale  until  after  reaching  his  twenty- third  year.  Unfortunately,  we 
know  nothing  of  his  personal  experiences  in  college.  It  is  interesting 
as  showing  the  democratic  character  of  the  Yale  constituency  of  his 
time,  that,  in  spite  of  his  father  being  an  artisan,  the  son's  social  rank 
in  the  Triennial  Catalogue  is  given  as  in  the  first  half  of  the  class. ^ 
He  found  a  kindred  military  spirit  in  his  classmate,  Phineas  Lyman 
(q.v.),  probably  the  most  distinguished  of  the  New  England  soldiers 
who  took  part  in  the  French  and  Indian  wars."  He  always  retained 
an  interest  in  the  College,  contributing  in  his  later  years  to  her  needs. 

His  military  career  began  soon  after  graduation,  for  in  1741 
he  was  appointed  Lieutenant,  and  in  the  following  year  Captain 
of  the  hundred-ton  sloop  of  war  "Defense,"  built  by  the  Colonial 
Assembly  to  guard  the  coast  in  the  war  between  England  and  Spain. 
His  next  field  for  military  service  w^as  in  the  expedition  against  Cape 
Breton,  when,  as  senior  Captain  of  the  Connecticut  troops,  he  gained 
great  reputation  for  his  part  in  the  capture  of  Louisburg.      His 

1  Seventh  in  class  of  fifteen. 

2  General  Israel  Putnam  is  better  known  because  of  his   deeds  of  personal  daring,  but 
I.yinan  was  his  superior  officer  and  showed  at  least  equally  great  military  capacity. 

[302] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— DAVID  WOOSTER 

bravery  was  rewarded  by  his  being  detailed  to  go  to  France  to  arrange 
for  the  exchange  of  prisoners.  He  returned  home  by  way  of  England, 
where  he  found  his  pictures  hanging  in  the  coffee  houses,  and  where 
he  was  treated  as  one  of  the  heroes  of  the  day.  He  was  presented 
at  court,  feted,  and  given  a  Captain's  commission  in  the  regular 
army.^ 

From  the  peace  of  1748  until  the  renewal  of  hostilities,  seven 
years  later — when  he  again  took  the  field  for  long  service  in  the 
campaign  against  Crown  Point,  Ticonderoga,  and  other  northern 
strongholds — and  again  from  1760  to  1775,  he  made  New  Haven  his 
home.  He  was  a  successful  merchant,  and  for  a  part  of  the  time  was 
also  His  Majesty's  naval  officer  for  the  port.  He  lived  in  a  house 
on  Wooster  Street,  near  St.  Paul's  Church,  in  what  was  then  a 
desirable  quarter.  Here,  with  his  charming  wife,  a  daughter  of 
President  Clap  of  Yale,  he  dispensed  lavish  hospitality.  Their  home 
was  the  resort  of  learning,  talent,  and  refinement,  and  Wooster  was 
looking  forward  to  a  peaceful  old  age  in  these  comfortable  and 
attractive  surroundings.  But  when  the  Revolution  opened  and  a 
third  chance  came  to  draw  his  sword  in  behalf  of  liberty,  the  patriotic 
impulse  could  not  be  resisted — "and  fearless  Wooster  aids  the  sacred 
cause."*  He  was  sixty-four  years  of  age,  yet  in  the  full  vigor  of  mind 
and  body.  "His  personal  appearance,"  according  to  the  chaplain'' 
of  his  regiment,  "was  good,  grand,  and  soldier-like.  He  was  active 
and  cheerful,  and  retained  his  activity,  cheerfulness  and  powers 
remarkably  till  he  fell  in  the  cause  of  his  country.""  He  entered  the 
state  militia  as  Major  General,  but  his  reputation  soon  secured  for 
him  a  Brigadier  Generalship  in  the  Continental  Army,  he  being  the 
seventh  officer  in  rank  after  Washington.^  He  served  first  in  the 
neighborhood  of  New  York,  then  joined  the  Northern  Army,  being 

3  Deming,  Oration  upon  the  Life  and  Services  of  General  David  Wooster,  p.  17. 
•*  Barlow,  Vision  of  Columbus,  Book  V,  p.  169. 

5  Rev.  Benjamin  Trumbull  (B.A.  1759). 

6  Quoted  in  Johnston,  Yale  in  the  American  Revolution,  p.  184. 

7  See  John  Hancock's  letter  of  June  22,  1775,  reproduced  in  facsimile  in  Woodrow  Wilson, 
History  of  the  American  People,  Vol.  IT,  p.  236. 

[  303  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

for  some  time  in  charge  of  the  American  troops  in  Canada.  Here 
his  conduct  was  criticised  by  General  Schuyler  and  by  some  politi- 
cians, although  Congress  adopted  the  report  of  its  committee  "that 
nothing  censurable  or  blameworthy  appears  against  Brigadier- 
General  Wooster."*  John  Adams,  in  his  Autobiography ,  seems  to 
have  stated  the  facts : 

In  Wooster's  case  there  was  a  manifest  endeavor  to  lay  upon  him  the  blame 
of  their  own  misconduct  in  Congress  in  embarrassing  and  starving  the  war  in 
Canada.  Wooster  was  calumniated  for  incapacity,  want  of  application,  and  even 
for  cowardice,  without  a  color  of  proof  of  either.  The  charge  of  cowardice  he 
soon  refuted  by  a  glorious  and  voluntary  sacrifice  of  his  life,  which  compelled  his 
enemies  to  confess  he  was  a  hero.^ 

His  death  occurred  while  he  was  attempting  to  check  General  Tryon's 
retreat,  after  the  latter's  raid  upon  the  supplies  in  D anbury.  Wooster 
had  made  a  successful  attack  upon  the  rear  of  the  enemy's  column 
near  Ridgefield,  capturing  forty  prisoners,  and  was  in  the  midst  of 
a  second  assault  when  the  Connecticut  troops  broke.  He  bravely 
tried  to  rally  them,  shouting,  it  is  said,  "Come  on,  my  boys!  Never 
mind  such  random  shots  !"^**  when  a  musket  ball  inflicted  a  wound 
from  which  he  died  a  few  days  later.  He  gave  his  life  in  his  country's 
behalf,  as  at  the  outset  of  the  war  he  declared  he  was  willing  to  do. 
Here  is  a  quotation  from  a  letter  to  Roger  Sherman,  written  in  reply 
to  one  expressing  regret  that  he  had  not  been  appointed  a  JNIajor 
General : 

No  man  feels  more  sensibly  for  his  distressed  country,  nor  would  more  readily 
exert  his  utmost  effort  for  its  defense  than  myself.  My  life  has  been  ever  devoted 
to  her  service,  from  my  youth  up,  though  never  before  in  a  cause  like  this,  a  cause 
for  which  I  would  most  cheerfully  risk,  nay,  lay  down  my  life.^^ 

Congress  showed  its  appreciation  of  his  services  by  adopting  the 
following  resolutions,  June  17,  1777: 

Resolved,  That  a  monument  be  erected  to  the  memory  of  Gen.  Wooster,  with 
the  following  inscription:     "In  honor  of  David  Wooster,  brigadier-general  in  the 

8  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  I,  p.  618. 

9  Quoted  by  Johnston,  Yale  in  the  American  Revolution,  p.  185. 

10  Appleton,  American  Biography,  Vol.  VI,  p.  611. 

11  Deming,  Oration,  p.  35.     Quoted  from  American  Historical  Magazine.     The  letter  was 
dated  July  17,  1775. 

[  304  ] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— DAVID  WOOSTER 

army  of  the  United  States.  In  defending  the  liberties  of  America,  and  bravely 
repelling  an  inroad  of  the  British  forces  to  Danbury,  in  Connecticut,  he  received 
a  mortal  wound  on  the  27th  day  of  April,  1777,  and  died  on  the  2d  day  of  May 
following.  The  Congress  of  the  United  States,  as  an  acknowledgment  of  his  merit 
and  services,  have  caused  this  monument  to  be  erected."^^ 

For  some  unexplained  reason  the  plan  was  never  executed,  and  it 
was  not  until  1854  that  a  monument  was  erected  at  Danbury,  and 
then  the  expense  was  met  by  private  subscription. 

The  University  is  the  owner  of  important  Wooster  memorabilia 
which  are  preserved  in  the  Library.  Some  of  them  were  presented, 
in  1837,  by  his  grandson,  Admiral  Charles  Wooster,  who  wrote  this 
letter  to  President  Day: 

As  I  shall  soon  leave  this  my  native  place,  and  there  is  much  uncertainty  as  to 
my  ever  returning  to  it  again,  I  beg  you  to  receive  in  behalf  of  the  College,  these 
three  relics  of  my  much  respected  grandfather,  whose  memory,  I  believe,  is  still 
cherished  by  every  American  patriot.  His  portrait,  I  found  by  mere  chance,  in 
the  city  of  Santa  Yago,  the  capital  of  Chili,  in  the  year  1822.  The  sword  is  the 
same  which  he  had  drawn  at  the  time  when  he  fell  in  repelling  the  inroads  of  the 
enemy  of  our  country;  and  the  sash  is  that  on  which  he  was  carried  from  the  field, 
after  receiving  the  wound  which  caused  his  death. ^^ 

The  city  of  New  Haven  has  kept  green  his  memory  through 
Wooster  Street  and  Wooster  Square,  while  the  Connecticut  Free 
Masons,  of  which  he  established  the  first  Lodge,  in  1750,  pay  special 
honor  to  his  name.  President  Dwight,  who  knew  him  well,  bore  this 
testimony  to  his  character: 

General  Wooster  was  a  brave,  generous  minded  man;  respectable,  for  his 
understanding,  and  for  his  conduct,  both  in  public  and  private  life;  ardent  in  his 
friendships,  and  his  patriotism;  diffusive  in  his  charities,  and  stedfast  in  his 
principles.  He  was  longtja  professor  of  religion,  and  adorned  the  profession  by 
an  irreproachable  and  exemplary  life.^* 

This  reference  to  his  rehgion  recalls  the  well-known  incident  of  his 
leading  his  regiment  in  prayer  in  the  old  meetinghouse  on  the  New 
Haven  Green,  just  prior  to  his  departure  for  the  front  in  1775.'^ 

12  Ibid.,  p.  57. 

13  Ibid.,  p.  55. 

"Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol,  I,  p.  619. 

15  Atwater,  History  of  the  City  of  New  Haven,  p.  46. 

[305] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

An  eyewitness  of  this  event  has  recorded  the  following  description 
of  it: 

The  last  time  that  I  saw  Col.  Wooster,  was  in  the  spring  or  summer  of  the  year 
1775.  He  was  at  the  head  of  his  regiment,  (or  a  part  of  it,)  with  their  arms  glisten- 
ing, and  their  knapsacks  on  their  backs,  ready  for  a  march,  embodied  on  the  Green, 
in  front  of  where  the  Center  Church  in  this  city  now  stands.  Before  marching, 
Col.  Wooster  despatched  a  messenger  for  his  minister,  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Edwards, 
with  a  request  that  he  would  meet  him  and  his  regiment  at  White  Haven  meeting- 
house, and  pray  with  them  before  they  marched.  He  then  conducted  his  men,  in 
military  order,  into  the  meeting-house,  and  seated  himself  in  his  own  pew,  awaiting 
the  return  of  the  messenger, — who  on  returning,  informed  the  Colonel  in  a  low 
voice,  that  the  clergyman  was  absent.  Col.  Wooster  immediately  stepped  into  the 
Deacon's  seat,  in  front  of  the  pulpit, — called  his  men  to  order  to  attend  prayers, — 
and  then  oflfered  up  a  humble  prayer  for  his  beloved  country,  for  himself,  and  the 
men  under  his  immediate  command,  and  for  the  success  of  the  cause  in  which  they 
were  engaged.  His  prayers  were  offered  with  the  fervent  zeal  of  an  apostle,  and 
in  such  pathetic  language,  that  it  drew  tears  from  many  an  eye,  and  affected  many 
a  heart.  After  prayers,  he  and  his  men  left  the  house  in  the  same  order  that  they 
entered  it,  and  immediately  marched  out  of  town,  by  the  road  leading  towards  New 
York.i« 

No  adequate  biography  of  General  Wooster  has  been  published. 
The  address  delivered  at  the  unveiling  of  the  Danbury  monument  by 
Henrj^  Champion  Deming  (B.A.  1836),  a  distinguished  officer  in  the 
Union  Army,  is  the  most  important  estimate  of  liis  career.  It  is 
entitled  An  Oration  upon  The  Life  and  Services  of  Gen.  David 
Wooster.  This  and  the  military  record  contained  in  Johnston's  Yale 
in  the  American  Revolution  have  supplied  most  of  the  material  for 
this  sketch  of  one  of  the  bravest  and  most  loyal  of  the  University's 
graduates.  His  dignified  grave  in  the  Grove  Street  Cemetery 
should  help  Yale  men  to  remember  his  patriotism.  It  used  to  be  more 
of  a  place  of  pilgrimage  than  it  is  today.  An  undergraduate  in 
the  Literary  Cabinet — the  first  regular  Yale  student  publication 
(1806)— has  an  "Elegy  Written  in  the  New  Burying- Yard."  It 
especially  extols  the  memory  of  Stiles  and  of  Wooster: 

Wooster,  a  name  to  patriotism  dear, 
Wooster  the  liberal,  good,  lies  buried  here ! 

16  The  American  Historical  Magazine,  Vol.  I,  No.  2,  February,  1836,  pp.  58,  59. 

[306] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— DAVID  WOOSTER 

Oyster  Pond,  27*^  Aug*  1775 

Sr 

I  expected  to  have  return^  by  the  way  of  New  Haven  before  now  but 
having  received  advice  of  another  Fleet  of  the  Ministerial  Transports  sailing 
from  Boston,  we  exspect  them  here  by  the  latter  end  of  this  week  and  as  we  are 
much  put  to  it  for  Provisions,  I  desire  you  wou^  immediately  send  for  Cap*^. 
Sillick  and  dispach  him  here  with  twenty  barrels  Pork,  thirty  barrels  Flour, 
six  D"  Peas  and  three  D°  Rice,  and  order  him  to  well  equiped  with  carrage 
&  swival  guns  and  also  with  light  Sails  as  I  want  his  assistance  to  take  the 
Small  Tenders  as  they  come  around  the  Shores  and  Islands  to  look  for  Plunder, 
and  you  may  inform  him  that  he  will  be  well  man[ned]  as  I  have  sent  orders  to 
Cap*  Lieu*.  Willmot  to  Collect  the  Soldiers  belonging  to  my  Regiment  that 
are  on  the  main  to  join  the  Reg*  here  immediately,  you  must  inform  Cap*. 
Sillick  that  the  King  Fisher  man  of  War  is  up  Sound  and  he  must  take  care 
not  to  fall  into  their  hands  I  desire  you  would  make  all  possible  dispach  and 
in  the  mean  time  I  am  S'' 

y^  most  Humb^,  Serv* 

David  Wooster 
To  Jon".  Fitch  Esq^. 

This  fine  war  letter  is  addressed  to  Jonathan  Fitch  (B.A.  1748), 
at  New  Haven.  During  the  early  years  of  the  Revolution  he 
combined  the  duties  of  Steward  of  the  College  Commons  and  State 
Commissary — an  interesting  prophecy  of  the  modern  emphasis  on 
cooperation  between  the  University  and  the  civic  authorities.  Four 
months  before  its  writing,  Wooster  had  been  appointed  Major 
General  of  six  Connecticut  militia  regiments  to  be  raised  immediately 
for  *'the  safety  and  defense  of  the  colony.'"^  He  appears  to  have 
been  actively  engaged  in  this  undertaking  when  he  wrote  this  letter 
from  Oyster  Pond,  now  the  village  of  Orient,  in  Southold,  Long 
Island,  where  Wooster  was  apparently  engaged  in  trying  to  collect 
stock.^^  The  regiment  which  he  commanded  as  Colonel  was  the  First. 
It  had  proceeded  in  June  to  the  defense  of  New  York  City,  and  on 
its  arrival  the  "Old  General"  and  his  officers  were  given  an  ovation 
by  the  citizens. 

17  Johnston,  Yale  in  the  American  Revolution,  p.  185. 

18  Ibid.,  p.  185. 

[307] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 


David  Humphreys 
Class  of  1771 

Born,  July  10,  1752;  Died,  February  21,  1818 
Washington's  Aide,  Diplomat,  and  Man  of  Letters 

Humphreys  was  a  man  of  the  world  in  the  best  sense  of  the 
words.  He  was  known  for  his  broad  culture,  and  his  services  entitle 
him  to  recognition  in  this  volume  under  Statesmen  and  Authors,  as 
well  as  under  Patriots.  But  it  is  clearly  under  the  last  grouping  that 
his  name  will  be  longest  remembered  in  our  history.  Even  his  work 
as  an  author  draws  its  inspiration  largely  from  the  Revolutionary 
struggle,  and  is  mainly  concerned  wdth  aiding  the  cause  of  American 
liberty. 

He  was  born  in  what  is  now  Ansonia,  Connecticut,  and  came  of 
excellent  colonial  stock.  His  father  was  for  upwards  of  half  a 
century  the  pastor  at  Derby,  and,  being  a  Yale  graduate  (B.A.  1732) , 
prepared  his  son  for  the  entrance  examinations.  The  latter's  high 
standing  as  a  student  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  was  called  to  the 
tutorship,  which  he  declined.  Two  of  his  college  friendships  were 
to  have  an  abiding  influence  on  his  career — those  with  Timothy 
D wight  (q.v.),  who  was  two  j^ears  his  senior,  and  with  John 
Trumbull  (q.v.),  who  graduated  the  year  he  entered,  but  remained 
in  New  Haven  for  three  years  of  graduate  study.  With  Joel  Barlow 
(q.v.)  as  a  fourth,  they  were  to  constitute  a  conspicuous  Yale  literary 
group,  whose  members  consecrated  their  talents  to  the  patriotic  cause. 
Their  names  were  brought  together  with  affection  by  Humphreys  a 
few  years  later : 

Why  sleep'st  thou,  Barlow,  child  of  genius !  why 
See'st  thou,  blest  Dwight,  our  land  in  sadness  lie? 
And  where  is  Trumbull,  earliest  boast  of  fame? 
'Tis  yours,  ye  bards,  to  wake  the  smother'd  flame — 

[308] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— DAVID  HUMPHREYS 

To  you,  my  dearest  friends !  the  task  belongs 
To  rouse  your  country  with  heroic  songs. ^ 

Humphreys'  career  as  an  undergraduate  was  well  known  to 
many  generations  of  Yale  students,  for  he  was  believed  to  have  been 
the  founder  of  Brothers  in  Unitj^  Oliver  Stanley  (B.A.  1768)  seems 
to  have  really  been  entitled  to  this  honor,"  but  Humphreys  was 
prominent  in  the  movement,  and  his  marked  personality  and  later 
fame  led  to  his  being  considered  the  society's  hero.  His  picture  was 
given  the  place  of  honor  in  its  rooms  in  the  top  of  Alumni  Hall. 
Brothers  soon  became  Linonia's  great  rival,  and  legends  of  its  origin 
grew  apace.  There  seems  to  be  some  truth  in  the  story  that 
Humphreys,  while  still  a  Freshman,  urged  its  foundation  as  a  rebuke 
to  the  older  Linonia,  which  had  been  slow  to  recognize  the  rights  of 
first-year  men.^ 

An  evidence  of  the  increased  interest  in  culture  which  begins  to 
be  noticeable  in  the  College  at  this  period,  and  which  Humphreys 
aided  Timothy  Dwight  (q.v.)  and  Joseph  Buckminster  (B.A.  1770) 
to  develop,  is  the  fact  that  on  receiving  his  Master  of  Arts  degree,  in 
1774,  he  delivered  an  oration  on  Taste.  At  the  same  time  he  is  down 
on  the  "Qusestiones"  as  supporting  the  affirmative  of  the  subject, 
An  prceficere  Alienigenas  Beipuhlicce,  ad  diruendam  illius  Constitu- 
tionem  mawimo  tendat.  This  title  serves  to  remind  us  that  one  of 
his  Latin  compositions  as  a  student  is  preserved  in  the  University 
Library. 

He  taught  for  three  years  after  graduation,  first  at  the  Wethers- 

1  The  Poetical  Works  of  John  Trumbull,  Vol.  II,  p.  234. 

2  Catalogue  of  the  Society  of  Brothers  in  Unity,  1854,  p.  3. 

3  It  is  quite  possible  that  Yale  owes  her  college  color,  at  least  in  part,  to  the  Brothers 
Society.  Yale  blue  does  not  seem  to  have  come  into  anything  like  general  use  until  the  sixties 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  following  quotation  from  the  address  (p.  84)  given  by  Charles 
Tracy  (B.A.  1832),  at  the  centennial  of  the  Linonia  Society  is  interesting:  "The  prevailing 
color,  pink,  has  been  of  old  the  badge  of  our  Society;  and,  most  fortunately  for  this  occasion, 
it  is  the  color  of  joy  and  exultation  the  world  over.  Well  may  it  show  now  in  gay  rosettes 
and  festoons,  for  this  is  our  day,  our  grand  gala  of  a  century.  But  other  tints  are  not 
forgotten.  Before  us,  on  the  chief  shield  of  honor,  is  the  green  of  the  college.  Old  Yale 
forever!  Ever  green  may  she  be!  Another  shield  l)ears  the  blue  of  'The  Brothers  in  Unity' — 
Always  true  blue!  Yonder  shield  bears  the  golden  yellow  of  the  former  Calliopean  Society — 
Always  pure  gold:  a  color  too,  which  was  prophetic  of  the  glorious  sunset  lights  of  her  noble 
going  down." 

[309] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

field  High  School,  and  later  at  the  famous  "Philipse  Manor"  in 
Westchester  County,  New  York,  but  he  seems  to  have  returned 
frequently  to  New  Haven.  The  call  to  arms  was  becoming  so 
imperious  that,  declining  a  tutorship,  he  became  a  soldier.  He  wrote 
a  sonnet  "addressed  to  his  friends  at  Yale  College,  on  leaving  them 
to  join  the  army": 

Adieu,  thou  Yale !  where  youthful  poets  dwell ; 
No  more  I  linger  by  thy  classic  stream. 
Inglorious  ease  and  sportive  songs,  farewell ! 
Thou  startling  clarion !  break  the  sleeper's  dream  !* 

He  first  heard  the  "startling  clarion"  in  earnest  in  the  siege  of  New 
York,  in  the  summer  of  1776.  Seventy^  Y^ale  graduates  were  in  the 
army  in  and  about  the  city  during  this  half  year  preceding  the  battle 
of  Princeton.  They  ranked  all  the  way  from  David  Wooster  (q.v.), 
a  Major  General,  to  Joel  Barlow  (q.v.)  and  David  Bushnell 
(q.v.),  who  were  volunteers.  Humphreys  was  an  Adjutant,  and  his 
Connecticut  regiment  was  one  of  the  last  to  leave  the  city  on  the 
unfortunate  fifteenth  of  September.  During  the  following  spring 
he  was  appointed  Brigade  Major  to  General  Parsons,  and  met 
General  Washington,  with  whom  he  was  to  become  so  intimate.  He 
was  honored  by  being  selected  to  inform  the  Commander-in-chief  of 
the  brilliant  success  of  the  expedition  which  crossed  the  Sound  from 
Guilford  in  whale  boats,  took  ninety  prisoners,  burned  twelve  supply 
ships  of  the  enemy,  and  returned  without  losing  one  of  its  one  hundred 
and  seventy  men.®  This  exploit  gave  him  the  necessary  experience 
for  two  similar  expeditions — one  the  following  year  when  he  led  thirty 
volunteers  in  a  successful  attack  on  some  more  of  the  enemy's  Long 
Island  shipping,  and  the  second,  on  Christmas  Day,  1780,  when  he 
made  a  daring  attempt  to  capture  Sir  Henrj'^  Clinton.  In  December, 
1778,  he  was  appointed  an  aide  to  General  Putnam,  a  position  that 

*  Quoted  from  The  National  Portrait  Gallery  of  Distinguished  Americans,  Vol.  II,  p.  2. 

5  See  list  in  Johnston,  Yale  in  the  American  Revolution,  pp.  38,  39. 

6  Ibid.,  p.  271. 

[310] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— DAVID  HUMPHREYS 

he  held,  except  for  a  few  months  of  similar  service  with  General 
Greene,  until  the  summer  of  1780.  Then  he  joined  Washington,  and 
remained  his  aide  until  the  war's  close/  It  is  interesting  to  know 
that  this  important  position  had  first  been  offered  to  another  Yale 
graduate,  Colonel  William  Hull  (q.v.).  He  declined  it,  suggesting 
Humphreys  as  his  substitute. 

It  was  of  the  events  leading  up  to  this  appointment,  and  of  its 
important  consequences  in  his  hfe,  that  Humphreys  refers  in  his 
poem  On  the  Happiness  of  America: 

I,  too,  perhaps,  should  Heaven  prolong  my  date. 

The  oft-repeated  tale  shall  oft  relate; 

Shall  tell  the  feelings  in  the  first  alarms, 

Of  some  bold  enterprise  the  unequalled  charms; 

Shall  tell  from  whom  I  learnt  the  martial  art, 

With  what  high  chief  I  play'd  my  early  part: 

With  Parsons  first,  whose  eye,  with  piercing  ken. 

Reads  through  their  hearts  the  characters  of  men; 

Then  how  I  aided,  in  the  following  scene. 

Death-daring  Putnam,  then  immortal  Greene; 

Then  how  great  Washington  my  youth  approv'd. 

In  rank  preferred,  and  as  a  parent  lov'd, 

(for  each  fine  feeling  in  his  bosom  blends 

The  first  of  heroes,  sages,  patriots,  friends,) 

With  him  what  hours  on  war-like  plans  I  spent. 

Beneath  the  shadow  of  th'  imperial  tent; 

With  him  how  oft  I  went  the  nightly  round, 

Through  moving  hosts,  or  slept  on  tented  ground; 

From  him,  how  oft,  (nor  far  below  the  first 

In  high  behests  and  confidential  trust,) 

From  him  how  oft  I  bore  the  dread  commands. 

Which  destined  for  the  fight  the  eager  bands: 

With  him  how  oft  I  passed  th'  eventful  day. 

Rode  by  his  side,  as  down  the  long  array 

His  awful  voice  the  columns  taught  to  form, 

To  point  the  thunder,  and  to  pour  the  storm. 

But  thanks  to  Iieaven !  those  days  of  blood  are  o'er.* 

7  Washington  wrote  to  President  Stiles,  in  1782,  of  his  interest  in  education  "and  espe- 
cially of  the  pleasure  I  feel  in  the  increasing  reputation  and  ability  of  the  Seat  of  Learning 
under  your  immediate  direction."     Ibid.,  p.  139. 

8  Humphreys,  Happiness  of  America,  p.  17. 

[311] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

There  is  no  doubt  that  he  held  a  confidential  and  important 
position  in  Washington's  intimate  military  family.  Many  of  the 
General's  orders  are  still  extant  in  his  aide's  fine,  flowing  hand.  He 
showed  the  young  officer  distinguished  honors.  He  appointed  him 
to  convey  to  Congress  the  British  flags  captured  at  Yorktown/  on 
which  occasion  he  was  presented  with  a  commemorative  sword — a 
scene  made  familiar  to  Yale  students  by  the  painting  in  the  School 
of  the  Fine  Arts.  Humphreys  is  also  one  of  the  six  officers  with  the 
Commander-in-chief  in  Trumbull's  painting  in  the  same  gallery  of 
Washington's  resignation  of  his  command,  and  he  was  urged  by  the 
latter  to  write  the  history  of  the  war : 

Your  abilties  as  a  writer,  your  discernment  respecting  the  principles  which 
led  to  the  decision  by  arms,  your  personal  knowledge  of  many  facts  as  they  occurred 
in  the  progress  of  the  war,  your  disposition  to  justice,  candor  &  impartiality,  and 
your  diligence  in  investigating  truth — combining — fit  you  in  the  vigor  of  life  for 
this  task.  And  I  shall  with  great  pleasure  not  only  give  you  the  perusal  of  all 
my  papers,  but  any  oral  information  of  circumstances  which  cannot  be  obtained 
from  the  latter  that  my  memory  will  furnish.^" 

After  the  Revolution,  Washington  invited  him  to  make  Mt. 
Vernon  his  home,  and  when  he  became  President,  appointed  him 
Minister  to  Portugal,  and  later  to  Spain — posts  for  which  he  was 
well  fitted  by  his  experience  as  Secretarj^  of  the  Commission  for 
negotiating  Treaties  of  Commerce  with  foreign  powers,  named  by  the 
Congress  of  the  Confederation.  In  view  of  these  many  evidences 
of  peculiar  friendship  and  honor,  it  is  pleasant  to  know  that 
Washington's  diploma  of  Doctor  of  Laws  from  Yale  University, 
conferred  in  1781,  was  conveyed  to  him  by  Colonel  Humphreys. ^^ 
The  Yale  Corporation  also  considered  the  latter  its  special 
representative  abroad,  for  he  was  "requested  and  empowered 
to  address  himself  in  our  Names,  and  to  ask  Donations  of  the 
Maecenates  [sic]  of  Literature,  and  any  Persons  of  Liberality  and 

9  Yorktown  was  celebrated  at  Yale  by  an  oration  by  Tutor  Meigs,  and  by  the  singing 
of  "a  Triumj)hant  hymn"  by  the  studentsj 

10  See  the  letter  in  Johnston,  Yale  in  the  American  Revolution,  p.  154. 

11  Ibid.,  p.  139. 

[312] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— DAVID  HUMPHREYS 

Munificence "^'    But  there  is  no  evidence  that  his  mission  for 

his  Alma  Mater  was  specially  successful. 

Stress  has  been  laid  on  his  military  career  and  on  his  intimate 
relationship  to  the  Commander-in-chief,  for  it  is  upon  the  combination 
of  these  facts  that  his  reputation  as  a  patriot  rests.  This  was 
confirmed  by  his  action  at  the  time  of  Shays'  Rebellion,  and  during 
the  War  of  1812,  when  he  was  Brigadier  General  of  the  state  militia. 
But  Humphreys  has  other  claims  to  fame.  He  was  for  over  ten 
years  a  successful  diplomat  in  Europe,  and  later  served  in  the  state 
legislature.  He  introduced  merino  sheep  into  America,  was  an  earlj^ 
and  successful  manufacturer  of  woolen  and  cotton  cloth,  and  an 
intelligent  advocate  of  scientific  agriculture.  He  was  one  of  five 
graduates  to  be  elected  members  of  the  Royal  Society  in  London, 
was  the  biographer  of  General  Putnam,  a  patron  of  letters,  and  a 
man  of  cosmopolitan  culture,  while  his  poems  and  miscellaneous 
writings  give  him  a  place  in  our  early  literary  history.  They  are 
almost  entirely  on  patriotic  subjects,  and  are  mainly  valuable  for 
their  references  to  contemporary  men  and  events.  Perhaps  the  best 
known  is  A  Poem,  Addressed  to  the  Armies  of  the  United  States  of 
America.  This  was  first  published  in  New  Haven,  in  1780,  and  was 
followed  by  editions  printed  in  London  and  Paris,  one  of  the  latter 
including  a  French  translation  in  prose. 

General  Humphreys  was  a  man  of  commanding  appearance  and 
of  impressive  courtliness  of  manner.  He  was  somewhat  vain  and 
given  to  display,  but  his  integrity,  culture,  ability,  and  patriotism  were 
everywhere  recognized.  The  University  owns  a  fine  portrait  of  him, 
by  Gilbert  Stuart,  as  well  as  a  bust.  The  "General  Humphreys 
Branch  of  the  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution,"  his  dignified 
monument  in  the  Grove  Street  Cemetery,  and  Humphrej^s  Street  also 
helj)  to  keep  his  name  and  record  before  the  community. 

His  military  career  is  best  treated  in  Johnston's   Yale  in  the 

12  Yale  Corporation  Papers.     Large  folio  Scrap  Book,  Library. 

[313] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

American  Revolution.  Accounts  of  his  life  appear  in  the  standard 
encyclopaedias,  and  a  biography  is  in  course  of  preparation  by  his 
great-grandson.  This  sketch  may  be  fittingly  closed  by  a  contem- 
porary tribute  from  a  fellow  Yalensian,  Joel  Barlow,  who  admired 
his  friend  both  as  a  soldier  and  as  a  man  of  letters : 

While  freedom's  cause  his  patriot  bosom  warms, 
In  counsel  sage,  nor  inexpert  in  arms, 
See  Humphreys  glorious  from  the  field  retire, 
Sheathe  the  glad  sword  and  string  the  sounding  lyre, 
That  lyre  which,  erst,  in  hours  of  dark  despair, 
Roused  the  sad  realms  to  urge  the  unfinish'd  war. 
O'er  fallen  friends,  with  all  the  strength  of  woe. 
His  heart- felt  sighs  in  moving  numbers  flow; 
His  country's  wrongs,  her  duties,  dangers,  praise, 
Fire  his  full  soul  and  animate  his  lays ; 
Immortal  Washington  with  joy  shall  own 
So  fond  a  favourite  and  so  great  a  son.^^ 


Head  Quarters  Ver  Planks  Point 
Sepf.  24th  1782 

You  will  recollect,  my  dear  Sir,  when  I  had  the  honor  of  corresponding  & 
conversing  with  you,  more  than  two  years  ago,  sometimes  on  literary  Subjects, 
that  I  mentioned  to  you  a  great  Poetical  Work  which  was  just  then  commenced 
by  Mr.  Barlow  a  Chaplain  in  the  Army — that  Poem  by  the  immense  labour 
and  efforts  of  the  Author  is  now  nearly  compleated,  &  will  be  ready  for 
publication  in  the  course  of  the  Winter  or  Spring,  if  sufficient  encouragement 
in  the  meantime  is  given  for  the  purpose. 

That  you  may  be  enabled  to  judge  fully  of  the  Plan,  &  in  some  degree  of 
the  Execution,  I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  forward  the  enclosed  for  your 
perusal,  and  in  case  it  should  meet  with  your  approbation  (as  I  doubt  not 
it  will)  to  solicit  in  the  most  earnest  manner  your  patronage  &  protection  of 
the  Work — Permit  me  to  add,  I  should  not  have  ventured  to  take  so  great 
liberties,  had  I  not  considered  you  as  a  Maecenas  &  Friend  of  Literature,  and 
at  the  same  time  been  apprehensive  that  the  Book  could  not  be  brought  forward 
to  advantage,  if  at  all,  unless  a  good  number  of  Subscriptions  can  be  obtained 
in  the  Southern  States — Altho  I  am  sensible  you  will  not  have  leisure  to  attend 
to  this  matter  yourself,  yet  I  have  enclosed  a  Copy  of  the  Proposals,  in  hopes 
that  a  number  of  Gentlemen  under  your  auspices   will  undertake  the  Task 

13  Barlow,  Vision  of  Columbus,  Book  VII,  p.  212. 

[314] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— DAVID  HUMPHREYS 

of  obtaining  Subscriptions,  if  1500  or  even  1000  can  be  obtained  to  the 
Southward  of  Pensylvania,  I  think  the  Poem  will  certainly  be  printed,  otherwise 
it  is  a  matter  of  great  doubt  whether  it  can  be  effected. 

Our  friend  Trumbull  has  augmented  his  McFingal  to  four  Cantos,  and 
published  a  New  Edition — It  is  an  admirable  performance — I  cannot  get  a 
Copy  at  this  moment  or  I  would  have  sent  it  for  your  Amusement. 

Inspired  by  all  the  ties  of  gratitude  and  friendship,  I  beg  you  will  be 
persuaded,  I  have  never  forgotten  you,  but  watched  your  various  fortunes, 
thro'  the  extremities  of  distress,  as  well  as  the  career  of  conquest  &  glory,  with 
the  most  sympathetic  feelings — It  is  a  mortifying  circumstance  to  me,  that 
among  millions  who  are  captivated  with  the  lustre  of  your  atchievments  & 
military  glory,  that  I  who  am  better  acquainted  with  your  public  &  private 
Virtues  cannot  find  stronger  terms  of  congratulation  &  affection  than  the 
herd  of  your  admirers — Whether  I  have  words  or  not  to  express  the  ardour 
&  Sincerity  of  my  affection,  I  request  you  will  believe  that  I  am  entirely 

My  Dear  Sir 

Your  friend  &  most 

devoted  Hble  Servant 

D  Humphreys 
The  Hon^le  Maj.  Gen  Greene. 

This  letter  is  of  unusual  interest  in  connection  with  the  study  of 
Yale's  contribution  to  literature.  It  brings  together  the  names  of 
three  of  the  "Hartford"  or  "Connecticut  Wits" — who  are  recognized 
as  forming  the  first  important  literary  group  in  America.  They  were 
John  Trumbull,  David  Humphreys,  and  Joel  Barlow — all  ardent 
Yale  patriots  who  had  also  done  much  in  successive  college  generations 
to  encourage  a  more  literary  atmosphere  among  undergraduates. 

The  "great  Poetical  Work"  of  Barlow  to  which  Humphreys 
refers  is  The  Vision  of  Columbus.  The  beginnings  of  this  are  seen 
in  A  Poem,  Spoken  at  the  Public  Commencement  at  Yale  College, 
in  New-Haven,  September  12,  1781.  It  was  not  until  1787  that  the 
finished  work  appeared.  Then  it  passed  through  so  many  editions, 
and  was  so  highly  praised  by  men  of  letters,  that  the  author  deter- 
mined to  expand  further  the  theme — Columbus'  vision  of  the  future 
glories  of  America — which  finally  appeared  twenty  years  later  as 
The  Columbiad.    The  list  of  subscribers  appended  to  the  first  edition 

[  315  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

of  the  "Vision,"  headed  by  Louis  XVI,  who  took  twenty-five  copies, 
shows  that  Humphreys'  request  to  General  Greene  met  with  httle 
success,  as  the  subscribers  are  mainlj"  from  New  England  and  New 
York. 

Trumbull's  McFingal:  a  Modern  Epic  Poem,  in  Four  Cantos, 
was  published  at  Hartford,  in  1782.  The  first  canto — "The  Town- 
jNIeeting" — appeared  in  1775.  It  was  printed  at  the  request  of  friends 
in  Congress  "to  inspire  confidence  in  the  cause  of  American  liberty, 
and  to  prepare  the  public  mind  for  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence."^* When  the  great  issue  of  the  war  was  settled  the  poem  was 
completed. 

Humphreys'  literarj^  friendship  for  Trumbull  and  Barlow,  as 
well  as  for  Dwight,  is  celebrated  in  some  amusing  doggerel  verse 
written  to  a  young  lady  in  Boston,  about  his  winter  journey  to  New 
Haven,  in  1780: 

Some  days  elaps'd,  I  jogg'd  quite  brave  on 

And  found  my  Trumbull  at  New  Haven; 

Than  whom,  more  humour  never  man  did 

Possess — nor  lives  a  soul  more  candid — 

But  who,  unsung,  would  know  hereafter, 

The  repartees  and  peals  of  laughter, 

Or  how  much  glee  those  laughters  yield  one, 

Maugre  the  system  Chesterfieldian ! 

Barlow  I  saw,  and  here  began 

My  friendship  for  that  spotless  man; 

Whom,  though  the  world  does  not  yet  know  it. 

Great  nature  form'd  her  loftiest  poet. 

But  Dwight  was  absent  at  North-Hampton, 

That  bard  sublime,  and  virtue's  champion. 

To  whom  the  charms  of  verse  belong, 

The  fatlier  of  our  epic  song.^^ 

When  Humphreys  wrote  the  above  letter  he  was  still  serving  as 
Washington's  aide-de-camp,  a  position  similar  to  the  one  he  had  held 
with  General  Greene  prior  to  June,  1780. 

1*  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  255. 

15  Duyckinck,  Cyclopaedia  of  American  Literature,  Vol.  T,  p.  374. 

[316] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— NATHAN  HALE 

Nathan  Hale 
Class  of  1773 

Born,  June  6,  1755;  Died,  September  22,  1776 
Patriot  Spy  of  the  Revolution 

Nathan  Hale  is  the  hero  of  the  Campus.  No  graduate  so 
symbolizes  to  the  undergraduate  of  today  the  highest  manifestation 
of  the  Yale  spirit  as  this  able  student  and  manly  j^outh  who  gladly 
gave  up  his  life  in  his  country's  service. 

He  was  one  of  a  family  of  twelve  children,  brought  up  on  the 
farm  of  his  father,  Deacon  Richard  Hale,  at  South  Coventry, 
Connecticut.  If  he  could  have  carried  out  Doctor  Holmes'  advice 
to  choose  his  ancestors,  he  could  not  have  done  better,  for  Hales  and 
Strongs  were  of  the  sturdiest  New  England  stock.  Although  delicate 
as  a  child,  he  grew  to  be  a  strong  and  vigorous  lad,  famed  in  the 
neighborhood  for  his  physique  and  his  skill  at  sports.  The  home, 
the  school,  and  the  church,  were,  as  they  should  always  be,  the  three 
main  centers  of  early  influence.  It  was  the  "Age  of  Homespun" 
described  by  Bushnell.  Life  was  simple,  but  it  was  fed  from  deep 
springs.  The  minister  of  the  village  church  was  a  Yale  graduate, 
Rev.  Joseph  Huntington  (B.A.  1762),  and  it  was  under  him  that 
Hale  prepared  for  college.  It  is  probable  that  his  influence  over  the 
young  student  was  broader  and  deeper  than  has  been  realized,  for 
he  was  a  man  of  unusual  culture  and  ability.  His  theological  views 
were  so  liberal  for  a  minister  of  the  orthodox  church  in  his  day  that 
the  greater  part  of  the  edition  of  his  Calvinism  Improved  was 
destroyed  by  a  member  of  the  family,  that  it  might  not  cause  offense. 
Many  of  the  masters  of  literature,  such  as  INIilton,  Shakespeare, 
Cicero,  and  Virgil,  were  his  companions,  and  his  conversation  was 
interesting  and  witty.  He  was  a  patriot,  a  strong  preacher,  much 
interested  in  education,  something  of  a  mathematician,  and  so  talented 
in  the  classics  that  he  had  been  awarded  a  Berkeley  Scholarship  at 

[317] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

graduation.  Such  was  the  man^  whose  preaching  and  teaching 
impressed  young  Hale  during  the  six  years  prior  to  his  entering 
college.  We  are  not  surprised  that  he  wrote  a  few  months  before 
his  death,  "I  always  with  respect  remember  Mr.  Huntington."' 

Nathan  entered  college  in  the  autumn  of  1769,  with  his  older 
brother  Enoch,  who  later  became  one  of  the  most  respected  Congre- 
gational ministers  in  JNIassachusetts,  and  the  ancestor  of  Edward 
Everett  Hale.  They  lived  together  simply  in  Connecticut  Hall, 
enjoying  to  the  full  the  Campus  life  of  the  time,  studying^  hard,  and 
devoting  themselves  without  complaint  to  their  other  college  duties, 
which  included  attendance  at  Chapel  at  half  past  four  in  summer  and 
half  past  five  in  winter!  Fortunately  we  have  several  accounts  of 
Hale,  written  bj"  those  who  knew  him  as  an  undergraduate.  The  first 
is  by  Timothy  Dwight  ( q.v. ) ,  who  was  a  tutor  during  Hale's  Junior 
and  Senior  years.    Here  is  his  tribute,  published  in  1785 : 

Thus,  while  fond  virtue  wished  in  vain  to  save, 

Hale,  bright  and  generous,  foxind  a  hapless  grave. 

With  genius'  living  flame  his  bosom  glowed, 

And  Science  lured  him  to  her  sweet  abode; 

In  Worth's  fair  path  his  feet  adventured  far, 

The  pride  of  Peace,  the  rising  hope  of  War; 

In  duty  firm,  in  danger  calm  as  even — 

To  friends  unchanging,  and  sincere  to  Heaven. 

How  short  his  course,  the  prize  how  early  won, 

While  weeping  Friendship  mourns  her  favorite  gone.* 

The  second  is  from  Dr.  Eneas  Munson  (B.A.  1753),  an  eminent 
physician,  and  a  friend  during  his  New  Haven  days  and  in  later  life : 

He  was  almost  six   feet  in  height,  perfectly  proportioned,  and  in  figure  and 
deportment  he  was  the  most  manly  man  I  have  ever  met.     His  chest  was  broad; 

1  See  biographical  sketch  and  bibliography  of  Huntington  in  Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A., 
Vol.  II,  pp.  750-755. 

2  Letter  to  his  brother  Enoch,  Johnston,  Nathan  Hale,  p.  144. 

3  A  friend  wrote  to  Hale  after  his  graduation:  "At  Yale  your  Character  was  certainly 
that  of  a  scholar  and  not  of  a  Buck."    American  Historical  Review,  Vol.  VII,  p.  776. 

*  Dwight,  Conquest  of  Canaan,  quoted  from  Johnston,  Nathan  Hale,  p.  130.  In  Johnston, 
Nathan  Hale,  Dwight's  letter  to  Hale  in  camp  asking  him  to  be  one  of  the  subscribers  to  the 
Conquest  of  Canaan  is  given.  In  it  he  refers  to  his  young  friend's  "politeness  and  benevo- 
lence," and  adds  these  suggestive  words:  "To  a  person  of  Mr.  Hale's  character  (motive  of 
friendship  apart)  fondness  for  liberal  arts  would  be  a  sufficient  apology  for  this  application." 

[318] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— NATHAN  HALE 

his  muscles  were  firm;  his  face  wore  a  most  benign  expression,  his  complexion  was 
roseate,  his  eyes  were  light  blue,  and  beamed  with  intelligence;  his  hair  was  soft 
and  light-brown  in  color,  and  his  speech  was  rather  low,  sweet,  and  musical.  His 
personal  beauty  and  grace  of  manner  were  most  charming.  Why,  all  the  girls  in 
New  Haven  fell  in  love  with  him,  and  wept  tears  of  real  sorrow  when  they  heard 
of  his  sad  fate.  In  dress  he  was  always  neat;  he  was  quick  to  lend  a  helping  hand 
to  a  being  in  distress,  brute  or  human;  was  overflowing  with  good  humor,  and  was 
the  idol  of  all  his  acquaintances.^ 

The  third  account,  written  by  a  companion  of  his  undergraduate 
years,  probably  gives  the  best  contemporary  description,  even  when 
due  allowance  is  made  for  its  elegiac  form : 

Erect  and  tall,  his  well-proportioned  frame, 

Vig'rous  and  active,  as  electric  flame; 

His  manly  limbs  had  symmetry  and  grace. 

And  innate  goodness  marked  his  beauteous  face; 

His  fancy  lively,  and  his  genius  great. 

His  solid  judgment  shone  in  grave  debate; 

For  erudition  far  beyond  his  years; 

At  Yale  distinguish'd  above  all  his  peers, — 

Speak,  ye  who  knew  him  while  a  pupil  there, 

His  numerous  virtues  to  the  world  declare. 

His  blameless  carriage,  and  his  modest  air; 

Above  the  vain  parade  and  idle  show, 

Which  mark  the  coxcomb  and  the  empty  beau. 

Removed  from  envy,  malice,  pride  and  strife. 

He  walked  through  goodness  as  he  walked  through  life; 

A  kinder  brother  nature  never  knew, 

A  child  more  duteous  or  a  friend  more  true. 

In  earth's  full  bloom,  fell  this  lamented  friend; 
But  life  is  long,  that  answers  life's  great  end, — 
That  leaves  embalm'd  a  pure,  unsullied  name. 
And  adds  a  worthy  to  the  rolls  of  Fame. 
Ye  sons  of  Science  and  of  Virtue,  mourn. 
With  copious  tears  bedew  his  silent  urn; 
And  thou,  fair  Yale,  the  Muses'  blissful  seat. 
Nurse  of  the  learn'd,  the  virtuous,  and  the  great, — 
Thy  mournful  notes,  let  Melpomene  swell. 
And  solemn  dirges  ring  his  funeral  knell." 

5  Appleton,  American  Biography,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  30. 
^American  Historical  Magazine,  February,  183(J,  pji.  61-64. 

[319] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

These  references  to  the  character  and  charm  of  "Hale  secundus"  are 
borne  out  by  all  that  we  know  of  his  college  course. 

He  was  admitted  into  the  "Fellowship  Club" — later  called 
Linonia — November  7,  1770.  It  was  the  third  meeting  after  the 
library  of  the  society,  now  an  asset  of  such  importance  to  the  Univer- 
sity, was  started.  The  minutes  for  July  16,  1770,  state  that  "in  order 
to  accomodate  the  Members  of  this  Society  with  a  Library,  a  number 
of  useful  Books  were  Collected "  Hale  united  with  five  class- 
mates in  presenting  eight  volumes  of  the  Spectator.  Each  subscribed 
five  shillings.  He  also  presented  The  Travels  of  Cyrus,  and  contrib- 
uted to  the  purchase  of  The  Elements  of  Criticism.  He  is  recorded 
as  present  at  the  meeting  when  the  important  vote  was  passed  "that 
if  ever,  tliis  honorable  fellowship  Club  should  be  desolved  and 
intirely  dispersed;  the  Books  which  are,  or  shall  be  given,  to  said 
Library;  shall  be  given  to  the  Library  of  Yale  College."^  The 
meetings  were  frequently  held  in  his  room,  and  the  minutes  from 
January  2  to  November  20,  1771,  are  in  his  handwriting.  There  are 
several  references  to  his  making  addresses.  Once  "the  Meeting  was 
opened  with  a  very  entertaining  Narration  by  Hale  2^."  The 
following  week  he  deHvered  "a  very  agreeable  and  entertaining 
extemporary  Dispute,"*  and  again  the  week  after,  he  was  responsible 
for  another  "verj^  entertaining  Narration."  Not  only  did  he  take 
part  in  one  of  the  plays  of  the  society — the  "Toy  Shop" — but  at  his 
Senior  anniversary  the  records  state  that  "An  Epilogue  made 
expressly  on  the  occasion  &  delivered  by  Hale  2*^  was  receiv'd  with 
approbation."^  That  his  interest  in  the  society  was  marked  is  beyond 
dispute.  It  is  shown  by  the  frequent  references  to  him  in  the  minutes, 
and  b}'  his  being  chosen  Chancellor.  Extracts  from  his  address  on 
behalf  of  the  incoming  Seniors  have  been  often  quoted.  It  is  so  fine 
that  it  is  here  given  in  full  from  the  original  in  the  Yale  Library : 

"  MS.  Linonia  Records,  April  15,  1772. 

8  Ibid.,  December  23  and  30,  1772. 

9  Ibid.,  April  13,  1773. 

[320] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— NATHAN  HALE 

Kind  Sirs, 

Sorrow  which  hath  for  a  long  time  spared  to  molest  this  peaceful  society  with 
its  disagreeable  presence,  has  we  see  at  length  approach'd  it  and  bedim'd  your 
countenances,  with  an  unusual  kind  of  sadness.  Sorrow  is  indeed  unpleasing;  yet, 
when  the  cause  of  it  is  so  just  as  at  present,  how  shall  we  attempt  to  restrain  it? 
That  the  Gentlemen  who  have  now  taken  their  leave  of  us  were  very  much  beloved 
by  us,  our  inward  emotions,  as  well  as  countenances,  do  very  strongly  testify.  They 
have  been  rendered  dear  to  us,  not  only  by  a  long  and  intimate  acquaintance,  but 
by  the  strictest  bonds  of  unity  and  friendship.  How  shall  we  ever  forget  the  many 
agreeable  evenings  we  have  spent  in  their  company.^  or  by  what  new  revolutions, 
do  we  hope  to  arrive  to  that  happy  period,  when  contented  with  our  happiness,  we 
shall  wish  no  more  the  return  of  such  delightful  scenes  }  The  high  opinion  we  ought 
to  maintain  of  the  abilities  of  these  worthy  Gentlemen,  as  well  as  the  regard  they 
express  for  Linonia  &  her  Sons,  tends  very  much  to  increase  our  desire  for  their 
longer  continuence.  Under  whatsoever  character  we  consider  them,  we  have  the 
greatest  reason,  to  regret  their  departure.  As  our  patrons  we  have  shared  their 
utmost  care  &  vigilence  in  supporting  Linonia's  cause,  &  protecting  her  from  the 
malice  of  her  insulting  foes.  As  our  benefactors  we  have  pertaken  of  their  liberality, 
not  only  in  their  rich  &  valuable  &  donations  to  our  library,  but,  what  is  still  more, 
their  amiable  company  of  conversation.  But  as  our  friends,  what  inexpressible 
happiness  have  we  experienced  in  their  disintered  love  &  cordial  affection.''  We 
have  lived  together,  not  as  fellow-students,  and  members  of  the  same  college  but  as 
brothers  &  children  of  the  same  family;  not  as  superiors  &  inferiors,  but  rather  as 
equals  &  companions.  The  only  thing  which  hath  them  the  pre-eminence,  their 
superior  knowledge  in  those  arts  &  sciences,  which  are  here  cultivated,  &  their 
greater  skill  &  prudence  in  the  management  of  such  important  affairs  as  these  which 
concern  the  good  order  &  regularity  of  this  society.  Under  the  prudent  conduct 
of  these  our  once  worthy  patrons,  but  now  parting  friends,  things  have  been  so  wisely 
regulated  as  that  while  we  have  been  entertained  with  all  the  pleasures  of  familiar 
conversation,  we  have  been  we  have  been  no  less  profited  by  our  improvements  in 
useful  knowledge  &  literature.  But  why  should  I  expatiate  upon  past  pleasures 
&  enjoyments.''  We  are  all  sensible,  alas!  too  sensible  of  [this].  So  greatly  are  our 
minds  impressed,  with  the  remembrance  of  them  that  the  thought  of  their  now 
ending,  is  almost  insupportable.  But,  why  have  our  friends  been  so  unkind,  as 
to  add  to  our  sorrow,  by  representing  to  our  minds,  in  the  most  affecting  light,  our 
former  intimate  friendship,  &  inflaming  in  our  breasts  a  still  greater  desire  for  their 
longer  continuence.'*  We  wish  for  it,  but  in  vain.  This  day  has  brought  about  the 
unwelcome  period,  the  melancholy  prospect  of  which  has  so  long  sadden'd  our 
Hearts.  We  must  now  take  leave,  a  final  leave,  of  our  dearest  friends.  Fain  would 
we  avoid  undertaking;  but  it  cannot  be  we  are  obliged  to  perform  it.  Since  therefore 
it  must  be  so,  let  us  submit.  Let  us  if  possible  for  a  moment  put  on  cheerful  & 
benevolent  countenances,  while  we  shall  return  return  to  our  parting  friends,  for 

[321] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

the  last  time,  our  sincerest  thanks  for  the  numberless  kindnesses  they  have  shewn 
us,  since  we  have  the  honour  of  being  called  Linonia's  Sons. 

Kind  and  generous  Sirs,  It  is  with  the  greatest  reluctance,  we  are  now  all 
oblig'd  to  bid  a  last  adieu  to  you  our  dearest  friends.  Fain  would  we  ask  you 
longer  to  tarry,  but  it  is  otherwise  determined,  and  we  must  comply.  Accept  then 
our  sincerest  thanks,  as  some  poor  return  for  your  disinterested  zeal  in  Linonia's 
cause,  &  your  unwearied  pains  to  suppress  her  opposers.  I  understand  that  at  the 
time,  when  you  were  receiv'd  by  our  Ancestors  into  this  society,  our  best  beloved 
Linonia  was  brought  very  low,  by  the  oppressive  hand  of  her  numerous  opposers. 
But  since  the  time  of  your  admission  she  hath  been  continually  encreasing  both 
in  dignity  &  power,  arising  from  step  to  step,  towards  her  antient  Splendor.  And 
hath  at  length  arrived  to  that  flourishing  condition  in  which  we  now  behold  her. 
To  you  is  owing,  in  a  great  measure,  our  present  prosperity.  (What  adequate 
returns  can  we  make  for  these  signal  favours?)  But  in  addition  to  all  the  rest  you 
have  now  given  us  those  instructions,  by  the  observation  of  which,  we  may  make 
Linonia  still  to  flourish,  &  shine  forth  with  superior  splendor.  Receive  kind  Sirs 
as  a  very  poor  return  our  sincere  thanks  for  your  numberless  kindnesses.  Be 
assur'd  that  we  shall  be  spirited  in  Linonia's  cause  &  with  steadiness  &  resolution 
strive  to  make  her  shine  with  unparalleled  lustre.  And  althoug  Plutonia  should 
make  use  of  every  sordid  &  low-liv'd  scheme,  to  raise  herself  &  rival  our  fame,  rely 
upon  it,  that  we  will  exert  ourselves  in  the  use  of  all  proper  means  to  humble  her 
pride  &  reduce  her  to  her  nothing.  And  you  may  firmly  believe,  we  will  do  our 
best  endeavours  to  render  ourselves  worthy  our  illustrious  Ancestors.  Be  assured 
Gentlemen,  that  your  memory  will  always  be  very  dear  to  us :  that  althouhg  hundreds 
of  miles  should  interfere,  you  will  always  be  attended  with  our  best  wishes.  May 
providence  protect  you  in  all  your  ways,  &  may  you  have  prosperity  in  all  your 
undertakings.  May  you  live  long  &  happily,  &  at  last  die  satisfied  with  the  pleasures 
of  this  world,  and  go  hence  to  that  world  where  joy  shall  never  cease  &  pleasures 
never  end.  D^^j.  Gentlemen  farewell ! 

During  his  college  course  he  had  the  advantage  of  the  intimate 
friendship  and  counsel  of  his  father.  Johnston  has  brought  together 
three  of  the  letters  to  his  son.    Here  is  a  characteristic  one : 

Coventry  Dec.  26th 
A.D.  1769. 
I  have  nothing  special  to  write  but  would  by  all  desire  you  to  mind  your  Studies 
and  carefully  attend  to  the  orders  of  Coledge.    Attend  not  only  Prayrs  in  the  chapel 
but  Secret   Prayr  carefully.      Shun  all  vice   especially   card   Playing.      Read  your 
Bibles  a  chapter  night  and  morning.     I  cannot  now  send  you  much  money  but  hope 

when  Sr  Strong  comes  to  Coventry  to  be  able  to  send  by  him  what  you  want 

from  your  Loving  Fath — 

Richd  Hale 

[322] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— NATHAN  HALE 

This  short  note  breathes  the  spirit  of  old  New  England  days.  It 
gives  the  Puritan  background  without  which  the  early  heroes  of  the 
nation  could  not  have  developed. 

Hale  was  a  high  scholar  and  was  assigned  a  "forensic  debate" 
at  Commencement,  when  with  Benjamin  Tallmadge  (q.v.)  he  upheld, 
against  William  Robinson  and  Ezra  Sampson,  the  affirmative  of  the 
question,  "Wliether  the  Education  of  Daughters  be  not  without  any 
just  reason,  more  neglected  than  that  of  Sons."  Of  this  debate 
his  classmate,  James  Hillhouse,  is  quoted  as  writing  "Hale  was 
triumphant.  He  was  the  champion  of  'the  daughters,'  and  most 
ably  advocated  their  cause. "^"^ 

And  so  his  college  life  drew  to  a  close.  George  Dudley  Seymour, 
to  whom  Yale  men  are  indebted  for  doing  much  to  keep  before  the 
university  community  the  memory  of  his  hero,  has  well  pictured  him 
as  a  manly,  generous  undergraduate,  typical  of  all  that  is  still  honored 
on  the  Campus."  No  wonder  that  Colonel  Tallmadge  called  him  his 
"much  loved  classmate,"''  and  that  General  Hull,  who  was  in  the  class 
ahead  of  him  in  college,  could  say  "There  was  no  young  man  who  gave 
fairer  promise  of  an  enlightened  and  devoted  service  to  his  country 
than  this  my  friend "'^ 

On  leaving  Yale,  Hale  seems  to  have  intended  ultimately  to  enter 
the  Christian  ministry,'*  but  he  began  by  teaching  school,  first  at 
Moodus,  a  part  of  East  Haddam,  Connecticut,  and  later  at  New 
London.  It  is  with  the  Union  Grammar  School  of  the  latter  place, 
where  he  taught  for  almost  a  year  and  a  half,  that  we  specially 
connect  him.  Here  is  part  of  a  letter  to  Dr.  Munson  telling  of  his 
work : 

I  am  happily  situated  here.     I  love  my  employment;  find  many  friends  among 
strangers;  have  time  for  scientific  study,  and  seem  to  fill  the  place  assigned  me  with 

10  Appleton,  American  Biography,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  30.     For  account  of  the  Commencement 
exercises,  consult  Johnston,  Nathan  Hale,  p.  30. 

11  See  The  Familiar  Hale,  reprinted,  with  some  additions,  from  the  Yale  Alumni  Weekly 
of  April  3,  1907. 

12  Quoted  from  Sparks,  Life  and  Treason  of  Benedict  Arnold,  p.  226,  in  Revolutionary 
Services  and  Civil  Life  of  General  Hull,  p.  44. 

13  Johnston,  Nathan  Hale,  p.  99. 
"Dexter,  Yale  B.  and  A.,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  484. 

[323] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

satisfaction.  I  have  a  school  of  more  than  thirty  bo3's  to  instruct,  about  half  of 
them  in  Latin;  and  my  salary  is  satisfactory.  During  the  summer  I  had  a  morning 
class  of  young  ladies — about  a  score — from  five  to  seven  o'clock;  so  you  see  my 
time  is  pretty  fully  occupied,  profitably  I  hope  to  my  pupils  and  to  their  teacher. ^'^ 

The  call  of  his  country  to  help  fight  for  the  sacred  cause  of  free- 
dom came  to  him  with  overwhelming  force.  And  so,  about  six  weeks 
after  the  Battle  of  Lexington,  he  wrote  the  following  simple,  manly 
letter.  Its  restraint,  its  complete  lack  of  any  element  of  the  mock 
heroic,  its  thoughtfulness  for  engagements  made,  and  its  evident 
patriotism,  should  make  it  an  inspiration  to  all,  and  especially  to 
fellow  Yale  men.  It  is  addressed,  under  date  of  July  7,  1775,  to  the 
proprietors  of  Union  School: 

Having  received  information  that  a  place  is  allotted  me  in  the  army,  and  being 
inclined,  as  I  hope,  for  good  reasons,  to  accept  it,  I  am  constrained  to  ask  as  a  favor 
that  which  scarce  anything  else  would  have  induced  me  to,  which  is,  to  be  excused 
from  keeping  your  school  any  longer.  For  the  purpose  of  conversing  upon  this, 
and  of  procuring  another  master,  some  of  your  number  think  it  best  that  there 
should  be  a  general  meeting  of  the  proprietors.  The  time  talked  of  for  holding  it 
is  6  o'clock  this  afternoon,  at  the  school-house.  The  year  for  which  I  engaged  will 
expire  within  a  fortnight,  so  that  my  quitting  a  few  days  sooner,  I  hope,  will  subject 
you  to  no  great  inconvenience. 

School  keeping  is  a  business  of  which  I  was  always  fond,  but  since  my  residence 
in  this  town,  everything  has  conspired  to  render  it  more  agreeable.  I  have  thought 
much  of  never  quitting  it  but  with  life,  but  at  present  there  seems  an  opportunity 
for  more  extended  public  service. 

The  kindness  expressed  to  me  by  the  people  of  the  place,  but  especially  the 
proprietors  of  the  school,  will  always  be  very  gratefully  remembered  by,  gentlemen, 
with  respect,  your  humble  servant,  ^  tt         le 

From  now  on  events  moved  rapidly  during  the  remaining  year 
of  his  short  life.  He  was  commissioned  First  Lieutenant,  and 
recruited  the  Third  Company  in  the  Seventh  Continental  Regiment, 
under  Colonel  Webb.  This  was  his  position  until  January  1,  1776, 
when  the  regiment  was  reorganized  as  the  19th  Foot,  in  Washington's 
Continental  Army.  He  was  then  promoted  to  a  captaincy.  The 
first  eight  months  of  his  service  were  around  Boston.    His  diary  for 


15  Johnston,  Nathan  Hale,  p.  13. 

16  Ibid.,  p.  139. 


[324] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— NATHAN  HALE 

this  period  has  fortunately  been  preserved.  It  is  full  of  unconscious 
references  to  his  fine  spirit  and  to  his  devotion.  Wrestling, 
"chequers,"  and  football,  were  among  his  diversions,  but  his  main 
work  was  improving  the  efficiency  of  his  men.  That  their  patriotism 
was  not  always  up  to  his  is  shown  b}^  this  suggestive  entry:  "Promis'd 
the  men  if  they  would  tarry  another  month  they  should  have  my  wages 
for  that  time."^'  In  March,  1776,  he  marched  with  the  army  to  New 
York.  He  was  keen  for  action,  and  gladly  availed  himself  of  an 
opportunity  to  become  a  Captain  in  Knowlton's  Rangers — about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  in  number — who  were  in  the  forefront,  reconnoiter- 
ing  the  enemy  as  scouts  and  free  lances.  It  was  to  Knowlton  that 
Washington  communicated  his  desire  for  more  specific  information 
regarding  the  British  Army  then  investing  the  city.  Hale  was  eager 
to  undertake  the  work.  He  consulted  his  college  friend  and  fellow 
captain,  William  Hull  (q.v.),  who  has  left  an  account  of  their 
meeting : 

After  his  interview  with  Colonel  Knowlton,  he  repaired  to  my  quarters  and 
informed  me  of  what  had  passed.  He  remarked  that  he  thought  he  owed  to  his 
country  the  accomplishment  of  an  object  so  important  and  so  much  desired  by  the 
commander  of  her  armies,  and  he  knew  of  no  other  mode  of  obtaining  the  information 
than  by  assuming  a  disguise  and  passing  into  the  enemy's  camp.  He  asked  my 
candid  opinion. 

Hull  replied  that  his  nature  was  too  frank  and  open  to  play  well  the 
part  proposed,  called  his  attention  to  the  hateful  service  of  a  spy,  and 
predicted  his  death  should  he  undertake  the  task.  Hale  answered 
"with  warmth  and  decision": 

I  am  fully  sensible  of  the  consequences  of  discovery  and  capture  in  such  a 
situation.  But  for  a  year  I  have  been  attached  to  the  army,  and  have  not  rendered 
any  material  service  while  receiving  a  compensation  for  which  I  make  no  return. 
Yet  I  am  not  influenced  by  the  expectation  of  promotion  or  pecuniary  reward;  I 
wish  to  be  useful,  and  every  kind  of  service,  necessary  to  the  public  good,  becomes 
honorable  by  being  necessary.  If  the  exigencies  of  my  country  demand  a  peculiar 
service  its  claims  to  perform  that  service  are  imperious.^* 

17  Ibid.,  p.  180.     Diary  for  November  28,  1775. 
i8/6id.,  pp.  99-101. 

[325] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

His  last  words  to  his  college  friend  were:  "I  will  reflect,  and  do 
nothing  but  what  duty  demands." 

Of  his  trip  to  New  York  by  way  of  Norwalk,  Connecticut,  and 
Huntington,  Long  Island,  few  facts  are  known.  A  fellow  soldier 
has  preserved  to  us  this  account  of  his  departure: 

Captain  Hale  had  changed  his  uniform  for  a  plain  suit  of  citizen's  brown 
clothes,  with  a  round,  broad  brimmed  hat;  assuming  the  character  of  a  Dutch 
schoolmaster,  leaving  all  his  other  clothes,  commission,  public  and  private  papers 
with  me,  and  also  his  silver  shoe  buckles,  saying  they  would  not  comport  with  his 
character  of  schoolmaster,  and  retaining  nothing  but  his  college  diploma,  as  an 
introduction  to  his  assumed  calling.^^ 

During  his  absence  from  camp  the  city  of  New  York  had  been 
occupied  by  the  British.  Hale  had  evidently  secured  the  information 
wanted  b}"  the  Commander-in-chief,  and  was  returning,  when  "being 
suspected  by  his  movements  that  he  wanted  to  get  out  of  New  York, 
was  taken  up  and  examined  by  the  general,  and,  some  minutes  being 
found  with  him,  orders  were  immediately  given  that  he  should  be 
hanged."^"  According  to  the  official  British  entry,  dated  "Head  Q^^ 
New  York  Island,  Sep^  22^:  1776,"  "A  spy  from  the  Enemy  (by  his 
own  full  confession)  apprehended  last  night,  was  this  day  Executed 
at  11  oClock  in  front  of  the  Artilery  Park ""^  Of  this  execu- 
tion, which  probably  took  place  near  the  site  of  Hamilton  Park,"  two 
facts  stand  out  clearly  from  trustworthy  evidence.  The  first  is  that 
"When  at  the  gallows,  he  spoke  and  told  that  he  was  a  Captain  in  the 
Continental  army,  by  name  Nathan  Hale.""^  So  honest  a  man  could 
disguise  nothing.    The  second  is  that  his  last  words"*  were: 

I  ONLY  REGRET  THAT  I  HAVE  BUT  ONE  LIFE  TO  LOSE  FOR  MY  COUNTRY. 

At  the  centennial  anniversary  of  the  Linonia  Society, ^^  in  1853, 
Judge  Francis  M.  Finch  (q.v.) ,  the  author  of  The  Blue  and  the  Gray, 
read  a  poem  entitled  Hale's  Fate  and  Fame.  The  first  and  last 
stanzas  follow: 

19  Hempstead's  account.  Ibid.,  p.  105.         20  j bid.,  p.  114.         ^^  Ibid.,  p.  111. 

22  Cf.  American  Historical  Review,  Vol.  VII,  pp.  775,  776. 

23  Johnston,  Nathan  Hale,  p.  114.         2i  ibid.,  p.  126. 

25  The  society  seems  to  have  been  founded  by  William  Wickham  (B.A.  1753). 

[326] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— NATHAN  HALE 

To  drum-beat  and  heart-beat 

A  soldier  marches  by; 
There  is  color  in  his  cheek, 

There  is  courage  in  his  eye, 
Yet  to  drum-beat  and  heart-beat 

In  a  moment  he  must  die. 


From  Fame-leaf  and  Angel-leaf, 

From  monument  and  urn. 
The  sad  of  Earth,  the  glad  of  Heaven, 

His  tragic  fate  shall  learn; 
And  on  Fame-leaf  and  Angel-leaf, 

The  name  of  HALE  shall  burn  l^^ 

Nathan  Hale's  memory  is  a  precious  national  possession,  while 
at  Yale  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  it  is  revered.  Every  graduate 
of  the  University  claims  special  interest  in  him,  for  did  he  not,  as  an 
undergraduate,  and  in  after  life,  embody  in  classic  form  the  Yale 
ideal?  He  strengthened  at  New  Haven  his  intellectual,  moral,  and 
social  traits,  and  identified  himself  heartily  with  the  various  interests 
of  the  student  body.  The  friendships  which  he  formed  were  intimate, 
and  were  kept  up  in  after  life.  His  Yale  diploma,  as  we  know,  was 
the  partner  of  his  sad  fate.  Small  wonder  that  in  the  brief  inscription 
on  his  tombstone  space  was  found  for  the  words,  "received  the  first 
honors  of  Yale  College,  Sept.,  1773." 

A  tablet  on  Connecticut  Hall,  and  the  noble  statue  by  Bela 
Pratt  (B.F.A.  1899)  commemorate  him  at  his  Alma  Mater.  The 
University  Library  preserves  records  of  the  Linonia  Society  written 
in  his  own  hand,  as  well  as  an  autograph  letter  which  was  bought  at 
auction  in  Philadelphia,  in  1913,  for  $1,525,  and  presented  by  an 
alumnus.  No  authentic  portrait  is  known,  although  a  miniature  is 
said  to  have  once  belonged  to  his  fiancee  in  Hartford.  Nathan  Hale, 
by  Professor  Henry  Phelps  Johnston  (B.A.  1862) ,  is  in  itself  a  noble 
memorial,  which  should  be  read  by  every  Yale  man. 

26  Johnston,  Nathan  Hale,  pp.  189,  191. 

[327  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Friend  Tallmadge, 

Although  a  first  attempt  prov'd  vain, 

I'm  still  resolv'd  my  end  t'  obtain. 

My  temper's  such  I  rare  give  out, 

In  what  I  'tempt  for  one  bad  bout. 

Were  this  the  case,  you'd  never  see 

Lines,  form'd  to  feet  and  rhyme  from  me. 

But  being  sadly  mortifyd 

At  thoughts  of  laying  it  aside; 

Reviv'd  a  little  by  your  letter, 

With  hopes  of  speeding  better, 

At  length  I  venture  forth  once  more. 

But  fearing  soon  to  run  ashore. 

My  thoughts  had  once  convey'd  you  home 
In  safety  to  your  wonted  dome; 
But  gladly  went  a  second  time. 
Attended  by  your  muse  and  rhyme. 
That  you  are  there,  the  single  proof. 
You  bring,  to  me,  is  quite  enough. 
But  here,  I  think  you're  wrong,  to  blame. 
Your  gen'rous  muse,  and  call  her  lame. 
For  when  arriv'd  no  mark  was  found. 
Of  weakness,  lameness,  sprain  or  wound. 
As  soon  as  stop'd,  away  she  trips 
(And  that  without  or  spurs  or  whips) 
With  me  in  charge  (a  grievous  load!) 
Along  the  way  she  lately  trode. 
In  all,  she  gave  no  fear  or  pain. 
Unless,  at  times,  to  hold  the  rein. 
Now  judge,  unless  intirely  sound, 
If  she  could  bear  me  such  around. 
It's  certain  then  your  muse  is  heal'd. 
Or  else,  came  sound  from  Weathersfield. 

Whene'er  with  friends  I  correspond, 
I  seek  for  food  of  which  they're  fond. 
But  if  my  best  's  of  meaner  kind, 
I  strive  to  dress  it  to  their  mind. 
For  this  I  leave  my  wonted  course. 
With  you,  and  seek  for  aid  from  verse. 

[  328  ] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— NATHAN  HALE 

Although  unsigned,  this  letter  to  his  Yale  classmate  and  intimate 
friend,  Benjamin  Tallmadge  (q.v.),  is  undoubtedly  in  Hale's  hand- 
writing. It  bears  on  the  back  the  endorsement,  "the  celebrated 
Capt  Nathan  Hale."  This  is  in  the  handwriting  of  Rev.  Dr.  William 
B.  Sprague  (B.A.  1815),  the  best-known  American  autograph 
collector  of  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  centurj\ 

Professor  Henry  Phelps  Johnston  examined  the  amusing 
doggerel  printed  above  and  urged  its  purchase  by  the  University. 
He  wrote: 

It  is  evidently  Hale's  first  attempt  at  poetry  in  college  (Senior  year,  I  imagine) 
in  answer  to  lines  that  Tallmadge  had  sent  him.  They  were  then  corresponding  on 
literature,  criticism,  etc.  Tallmadge's  second  prose  letter  in  the  series  is  at  Hartford 
and  is  marked  by  Hale  (as  I  have  lately  made  out),  as  'N-' — No  2.  This  little 
endorsement  has  heretofore  been  an  enigma,  but  the  above  is  to  my  mind  clearly  the 
meaning  of  it. 

The  letter  also  confirms  the  tradition  that  Hale  roomed  in  South  Middle  and 
in  the  South  entry,  the  latter,  I  believe,  not  known  before. 

The  poetry  at  Henkel's  [auction  rooms]  accordingly,  was  almost  certainly, 
(to  my  view,  certainly)  written  by  Hale  as  a  student  performance  in  the  above 
building  and  entry. 

As  the  poem  is  not  signed,  a  reproduction  is  added  in  the 
Memorial  Hall  collection  of  his  name  as  it  appears  attesting  the 
records  of  the  Linonia  Society  for  the  meeting  of  January  9,  1771. 

An  additional  autograph  document  in  the  author's  collection  is 
also  added  for  its  references  to  Hale  by  a  classmate,  Elihu  ^larvin. 

Norwich  26  Feb.  1776. 

S''.     Received  yours  by  M^.  Richards I  did  not  send  by  the  post 

however  I  wrote  and  expected  it  would  have  gone  sometime  since.  The  reason 
I  did  not  send  by  the  post  was  I  understood  he  rode  by  subscription  and  that 
nonsubscribers  paid  Postage,  which  I  supposed  you  would  think  dear.  .  But 
I  find  he  brings  letters  for  me  and  demands  nothing  however  the  matter  is  I 

intend  to  know  soon  and  be.  able  to  send  in  a  Constitutional  way One 

piece  of  news ;  I  have  set  out  to  manufacture  Salpetre.  hope  the  Army  in 
future  will  be  in  no  want  of  powder  for  I  have  extracted  at  least  half  a  pound. 

It  is  said  in  Letterwriting  it  is  best  to  write  what  comes  uppermost 

[329] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

but  what  think  you  had  I  best  tell  you  how  mad  I  have  been  to  day  or  not.? 
.  .  .  .  I  rather  doubt  it;  and  yet  since  I  have  raised  your  curiosity  I  believe 
I  must  in  some  measure  gratify  it.     I  think  as  we  were  walking  down  street  I 

told  you  something  of  our  affairs  in  the  Light  Infantry  company We 

have  this  day  been  pretending  to  exercise  and  manoeuvre,  and  as  is  usual 
mustered  one  Commission  Officer  and  for  matter  of  what  he  knew  about  dis- 
cipline we  might  as  well  have  been  without  him To  put  one's  self  to 

some  considerable  cost  to  fix  to  have  raised  expectations  of  making  some 
appearance,  to  attract  the  attention  of  men  of  skill  and  judgment,  as  well  as 
to  equip  ourselves  to  serve  our  Country,  and  then  to  be  haw'd  about  by  a  set 
of  Ignoramus's  and  made  the  sport  and  ridicule  of  spectators  you  may  well 
think  will  stir  old  Adam  especially  in  a  person  whose  vanity  tells  him  if  the 
Tables  were  turned  matters  would  not  work  just  so 

What  scheme  shall  now  poor  Corpl  lay 

Since  Polly's  gone,  an  still  doth  stay; 

If  there  I  knock  they  bid  me  walk  in 

But  Polly's  not  in  hall  or  kitchin. 

Then  out  he  goes  and  does  not  tarry 

Whilst  Cretia  cries  "pray  what's  your  hurry; 

By  that  time  this  is  fairly  done 

Lo !  Tom.  replies  the  Corps's  gone, 

He's  gone  'tis  true  replete  with  cheer 

But  hardly  knows  which  way  to  stear. 

When  musing  thus  within  himself 

"  Near  by  lives  Nathan's  other  self, 

"  Poor  Girl  she's  left  almost  alone, 

Since  Neighbour  Hale's  been  gone  from  home 

"  By  Nature's  laws  we  are  directed 

"  To  visit  such  as  are  afflicted." 

Then  onward  strait  directs  his  course 

To  seek  and  find  the  weeping  house, 

When  there:  the  Lady  drown'd  in  tears 

With  sad  complaints  doth  fill  his  ears. 

"  Behold  (she  cries)  the  Cap*  cruel 

"  Hath  left  me  neither  food  nor  fuel; 

"  O  more  than  frozen  guilty  heart, 

"  That  could  with  so  much  ease  depart 

"  And  leave  me  here  as  yet  untried 

"  A  poor,  forsaken  helpless  bride." 

Her  heart  to  ease  her  mind  to  calm. 

He  then  pours  in  the  friendly  balm 

Of  honor  gaind,  of  service  done 

[330] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— NATHAN  HALE 

A  treasure  which  he'll  sure  bring  home 
The  side  is  full  the  rhyme  is  bad 
So  I'll  leave  off  and  go  to  bed 
Of  this  if  you  are  quite  observant 
You'll  find  I'm  still  your  humb^.  Serv*. 

P.  S.  forwarded  directly  to  N.  London  by  M^.  E.  Marvin  Richards. 

Only  about  a  dozen  autograph  letters  of  Nathan  Hale  are  known 
to  exist,  and  when  any  one  of  them  is  offered  for  sale,  it  brings  a 
large  price.  The  letter  bears  on  the  back,  in  what  is  unquestionably 
our  hero's  handwriting,  the  endorsement,  "E.  Marvin  Feb^.  26*^ 
1776."  Marvin  was  Hale's  classmate  and  intimate  friend  at  college, 
and  like  him  he  became  a  Connecticut  schoolmaster,  and  later  an 
officer  in  the  Revolutionary  Army. 

Hale,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  is  supposed  to  have  been  engaged 
to  Alicia  Adams  of  Hartford,  but  it  is  evident  from  this  letter  that 
Miss  "Polly"  of  Norwich  at  least  felt  that  she  had  some  claim  on  his 
affections  less  than  a  year  previous  to  his  execution.  Then  "Nathan's 
other  self"  complained  of  his  going  to  the  army  leaving  her 

....  as  yet  untried 
A  poor,  forsaken  helpless  bride. 

An  interesting  sidelight  on  this  conjecture,  at  least  from  the  young 
lady's  standpoint,  is  found  in  another  letter  written  by  Marvin  to 
Hale.     "Polly  hears  of  one  and  another  at  New  London  who  have 

letters  from  Mr.  Hale  but  none  comes  to  me  Polly  saj^s P.  S. 

Miss  Polly's  compli*^  to  Mr.  Hale — A  letter  would  not  be  disagree- 
able."" It  is  clear  from  these  letters,  and  from  other  evidence,  that 
Hale  shared  the  tendency  of  youth  to  be  interested  in  the  other  sex — 
a  touch  of  humanity  to  which  we  should  raise  no  objection! 

27  Johnston,  Nathan  Hale,  p.  161.    Letter  dated  December  15,  1775. 


[331] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Peter  Buell  Porter 
Class  of  1791 

Born,  August  14,  1773;  Died,  March  20,  1844 
Major  General  in  War  of  1812,  and  Secretary  of  War 

Porter's  brilliant  record  for  braverj'-  and  efficient  leadership  in 
connection  with  the  second  war  with  England  entitles  him  to 
recognition  among  the  University's  patriots.  He  inherited  from  his 
Yale  father.  Colonel  Joshua  Porter  (B.A.  1754),  both  his  patriotism 
and  his  interest  in  military  matters.  The  Colonel  commanded  a 
regiment  in  the  campaign  against  Burgoyne,  and  during  most  of  his 
son's  boyhood  was  a  phj^sician  in  Salisbury,  where  he  was  in  charge 
of  the  cannon  and  ammunition  works  that  were  of  such  service  to  the 
Revolutionary  cause.  In  this  Connecticut  village  the  son  was  born, 
and  he  is  entered  as  from  it  in  the  "Catalogus  Recentium,"  or  Fresh- 
man List,  of  November,  1787.  In  his  Senior  year  he  served  as 
Librarian  of  Brothers,  an  appointment  which  implied  a  reputation 
for  reliability  and  an  interest  in  books.  He  does  not  seem  to  have 
been  obliged  to  economize  as  a  student.  The  College  Butler's  records 
show  that  wine,  tobacco,  cider,  and  beer  are  frequent  entries  under 
his  name.  There  is  no  reference  to  his  having  been  conspicuous  in 
any  way  in  undergraduate  days.  A  good  account  of  the  routine  of 
the  student  life  of  his  time  is  given  in  a  letter  written  by  a  Freshman, 
in  1790,  and  quoted  by  Professor  Dexter: 

The  Students  here  are  not  in  want  of  exercises.  At  half  an  hour  after  five  in 
the  morning  the  Bel  rings  which  calls  us  all  to  arise,  &  at  the  toleing  of  the  same 
which  is  soon  after  we  all  walk  to  the  Chappel,  attend  prayers  and  then  retire  to 
our  rooms.  In  about  half  an  hour  we  are  called  to  restation  which  continues  till 
about  eight.  Immediately  after  this  we  go  to  breckfast,  after  this  we  return  to  our 
rooms  to  our  studies.  Then  again  by  the  ringing  of  the  bel  at  eleven  we  are  called 
to  restation.  Soon  after  we  go  to  dinner,  also  a  little  before  five  in  the  aftenoon 
we  attend  restation  and  from  thence  to  prayers  in  the  chappel  Directly  after  we 
go  to  supper  and  from  thence  we  retire  to  our  rooms  in  College  and  after  a  reasonable 

[332] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— PETER  BUELL  PORTER 

time  retire  to  sleep.  To  these  rounds  of  duties  each  Student  is  compeld  to  attend 
and  on  failier  thereof  a  fine  is  inflicted  for  each  offence ^ 

The  destruction  of  the  family  papers  near  Buffalo,  in  connection 

with  the  War  of  1812,  has  resulted  in  obliterating  all  records  that 

Porter  may  have  kept  of  his  college  career,  but  fortunately  they  could 

not  destroy  a  well-trained  mind,  and  an  interest  in  education  which  he 

later  put  to  good  advantage  as  a  Regent  of  the  University  of  the 

State  of  New  York.    Like  many  of  the  most  ambitious  young  men 

of  his  day,  he  entered,  after  graduation,  the  Litchfield  Law  School, 

and  then  took  up  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Western  New  York. 

Here  his  ability,  attractive  personality,  and  interest  in  public  affairs, 

soon  made  him  the  most  prominent  political  leader  of  his  section.    In 

1808,  he  was  elected  to  Congress,  where  his  career  was  conspicuous 

for  two  things :  a  most  important  and  influential  speech  favoring  aid 

in  the  construction  of  waterways  like  the  Erie  Canal,  and  the  report 

which  he  presented  as  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs, 

recommending  war  with  Great  Britain.    It  is  interesting  to  note  that 

Porter  and  Calhoun  (q.v.)  made  a  Yale  majorit}^  on  this  committee. 

The  report  which  he  drafted  closed  with  these  words : 

The  period  has  arrived  when  in  the  opinion  of  your  committee  it  is  the  sacred 
duty  of  Congress  to  call  forth  the  patriotism  and  resources  of  the  country.  By  the 
aid  of  these,  and  with  the  blessing  of  God,  we  confidently  trust  we  shall  be  enabled 
to  procure  that  redress  which  has  been  sought  for  by  justice,  by  remonstrance,  and 
forbearance  in  vain.^ 

Six  resolutions  followed,  recommending  an  increase  of  ten  thousand 
men  in  the  regular  army ;  a  levy  of  fifty  thousand  volunteers ;  the  out- 
fitting of  all  vessels  of  war  not  in  actual  service;  and  the  arming  of 
merchantmen.  Porter  opened  the  debate  in  a  candid  speech.  "It 
was  the  determination  of  the  committee,"  he  said,  "to  recommend 
open  and  decided  war, — a  war  as  vigorous  and  effective  as  the 
resources  of  the  country  and  the  relative  situation  of  ourselves  and 
our  enemy  would  enable  us  to  prosecute."^     The  resolutions  were 

1  Yale  B.  ami  A.,  Vol.  IV,  p.  701. 

2  Adams,  History  of  the  United  States  of  America,  Vol.  II,  p.  136. 
^Ibid.,  Vol.  II,  p.  136, 

[333] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

adopted  by  an  overwhelming  majority.  No  sooner  was  war  declared 
than  he  showed  his  sincerity  by  resigning  his  seat  in  Congress  and 
recruiting  a  brigade  of  volunteers,  a  task  for  which  his  experience 
as  Colonel  in  the  state  militia  w^as  of  much  assistance.  His  energy 
and  proven  ability  in  early  engagements  along  the  New  York  frontier 
led  to  his  appointment,  in  1813,  as  Brigadier  General  of  New  York 
Volunteers.  It  was  General  Porter  who  commanded  his  troops  in  the 
successful  battle  of  Lundy's  Lane,  and  it  was  he  who  planned  and  led 
the  sortie  from  Fort  Erie — a  brilliant  success.  He  led  a  column  of 
sixteen  hundred  men,  mostly  volunteers,  captured  a  blockhouse  and 
battery,  and  spiked  the  enemy's  guns.  His  three  leading  officers,  and 
about  one-fourth  of  his  men,  were  killed.*  He  was  himself  slightly 
wounded,  but  the  importance  of  his  achievement  resulted  in  his 
promotion  to  a  Major  Generalship.  For  these  and  other  services  the 
Legislature  of  New  York  presented  him  with  a  sword,  while  the 
federal  government  ordered  a  gold  medal  struck  for  him  "in  testimony 
of  the  high  sense  entertained  by  congress"  of  his  "gallantry  and  good 
conduct  in  the  several  conflicts  of  Chippewa,  Niagara,  and  Erie."^  A 
photograph  of  the  medal,  showing  a  bas-relief  bust  of  the  General  in 
profile  may  be  seen  with  the  engraving  in  the  Yale  collection  described 
in  these  volumes. 

The  contemporary^  judgment  of  Porter's  executive  ability  and 
military  capacity  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  when  President  Madison 
was  face  to  face  with  the  difficult  problem  of  reorganizing  the  regular 
army  at  the  close  of  the  war,  he  is  believed  to  have  offered  him  the 
appointment  of  Commander-in-chief.  The  position  was  not  accepted. 
Later,  after  further  congressional  service,  and  after  acting  as 
Commissioner  to  determine  the  Northwestern  boundary  of  the  United 
States,  and  much  activity  in  the  public  life  of  New  York,  General 
Porter  entered  President  Adams'  Cabinet  as  Secretary  of  War.  This 
appointment  was  due  in  the  first  instance  to  the  earnest  support  of 

4  For  account,  see  Ibid.,  Vol.  VIII,  Chapter  III. 

5  Loubat,  Medallic  History  of  the  United  States  of  America,  p.  204. 

[334] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— PETER  BUELL  PORTER 

Henry  Clay,  one  of  his  strong  political  friends/'  They  held  similar 
views  regarding  the  internal  development  of  the  country.  In  this 
connection  Porter  should  be  remembered  as  one  of  the  leaders  in 
the  movement  for  constructing  the  Erie  Canal.  He  served  with 
Gouverneur  Morris  and  DeWitt  Clinton  on  the  commission  which 
explored  the  route,  and  aided  the  project  in  many  ways. 

There  may  be  difference  of  opinion  as  to  whether  or  not  the  War 
of  1812  was  entirely  justifiable,  but  there  is  unanimity  among 
historians  as  to  the  honorable  part  played  by  General  Porter  in 
helping  to  bring  about  the  success  of  the  American  arms.  His 
tombstone  bears  this  inscription: 

Peter  Buell  Porter,  a  pioneer  in  Western  New  York;  a  statesman  eminent  in 
the  annals  of  the  nation  and  the  State ;  a  general  in  the  armies  of  America,  defending 
in  the  field  what  he  had  maintained  in  the  council.  Born  in  Salisbury,  Connecticut, 
August  14,  1773.  Died  at  Niagara  Falls,  March  20,  1844.  Known  and  mourned 
throughout  that  extensive  region  which  he  had  been  among  the  foremost  to  explore 
and  to  defend.^ 

His  grandson,  Hon.  Peter  A.  Porter  (B.A.  1874),  is  planning 
to  publish  an  adequate  biography. 


Department  of  War 

July  22^  1828 
Sir, 

....  We  shall  always  take  pleasure  in  extending  to  citizens,  such 
facilities  in  obtaining  their  rights,  as  may  be  in  our  power,  and  as  shall  not 
infringe  on  our  public  duties.  But  I  need  hardly  observe  to  you,  that 
Commissary  General  Irvine  had  no  authority  to  pledge  the  government  in 
contracts  for  the  purchase  of  ornamental  dress  for  the  Officers  of  the  Army ; 
and  that  he  has  not  pledged  himself,  in  this  case,  either  in  his  official  or  private 
capacity  seems  quite  evident  from  the  fact,  that  the  debt  is  not  yet  paid.  You 
will  pardon  me  for  adding  the  further  remark,  which  I  make  with  greater 
freedom  to  you,  who  know  how  to  appreciate  it,  that  aside  from  the  labours  it 
would  cost,  the  practice,  if  indulged  in,  of  making  the  Department  the  Agent 
and  administrator  of  the  'private  concerns  of  the  Officers  of  the  Army,  would 
be  calculated  to  interrupt  the  harmony,  and  lessen  the  respect  which   it  is 

^Memoirs  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  Vol.  VII,  pp.  474,  544. 
7  Lossing,  Pictorial  Field  Book  of  the  War  of  1812,  p.  838. 

[335] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  ^lEN 

important  should  be  maintained  and  reciprocated,  between  the  Officers  of  the 
Army  and  the  functionaries  of  this  Department. 

You  will  not  misunderstand  me  to  mean  that  dishonourable  conduct  in 
an  Officer  in  relation  to  his  private  concerns  may  not  present  a  proper  subject 
for  the  interference  and  animadversion  of  this  Department ;  but  that  the  simple 
fact  of  an  Officers  being  unable  or  unwilling  to  discharge  a  private  debt,  does 
not  present  sufficient  ground  for  official  interference. 
I  beg  you  to  be  assured  of  the  continuance 

of  my  ancient  friendship  and  respect 

Peter  B.  Portee 
Col  William  I.  Duane 
Phil^ 

The  "ancient  friendship"  evidently  goes  back  to  the  War  of 
1812,  when  Colonel  Duane  was  Adjutant  General.  Porter  retained 
through  life  his  interest  in  the  army,  publishing  many  volumes  on 
military  affairs.  This  letter  was  signed  by  him  as  Secretary  of  War 
in  the  Cabinet  of  John  Quincy  Adams. 


[336] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— CASSIUS  MARCELLUS  CLAY 

Cassius  Marcellus  Clay 
Class  of  1832 

Born,  October  19,  1810;  Died,  July  22,  1903 
Anti- Slavery  Leader 

Cassius  M.  Clay,  whose  father  was  a  cousin  of  Henry  Clay,  was 
one  of  the  very  small  group  of  Southern  men,  including  General 
George  Thomas,  General  Robert  Anderson,  and  Admiral  Farragut, 
who,  from  motives  of  loyalty  to  the  Union,  or  of  opposition  to  slavery, 
aided  the  North  in  the  Civil  War.  But  no  Southern  man  was  so 
active  in  the  anti-slavery  cause  as  Clay,  and  none  believed  more  deeply 
than  he  the  words  he  wrote  in  an  autograph  album  in  1857,  "Liberty 
is  the  best  gift  of  God  to  men." 

This  picturesque  and  vigorous  personality  was  born  in  Madison 
County,  Kentucky,  being  the  son  of  General  Green  Clay,  a  soldier 
distinguished  in  the  War  of  1812.  He  studied  at  Transylvania 
University  but  went  to  Yale  for  the  last  two  years  of  his  course.  His 
decision  in  favor  of  New  Haven  was  made,  according  to  his  own 
statement,  "on  account  of  its  reputed  beauty  of  trees,  as  well  as  its 
reputation  for  thoroughness  in  education."^  He  adds:  "There  were 
quite  a  number  of  Southerners  then  in  Yale;  so  I  soon  felt  at  home, 
and  entered  upon  my  studies  with  good  heart.     I  joined  one  of  the 

college  societies,  and  took  a  leading  part  in  the  debates "^ 

Among  his  friends  in  college  were  Allen  Taylor  Caperton,  afterwards 
Senator  from  West  Virginia,  and  Joseph  Longworth,  later  a  promi- 
nent citizen  and  benefactor  of  Cincinnati.  The  greatest  influence  in 
his  course  was  hearing  the  slavery  question  debated,  and  especially 
listening  to  a  speech  by  William  Lloyd  Garrison  in  the  Center  Church 
on  the  Green.  It  made  a  deep  impression  upon  him,  so  much  so  that 
he  tells  us:  "I  then  resolved,  however,  that,  when  I  had  the  strength. 


1  Life  of  Cassius  Marcellus  Clay,  p.  54. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  54. 


[337] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

if  ever,  I  would  give  slavery  a  death  struggle."^  He  had  always  hated 
slavery,  but  until  now  had  feared  that  it  was  "the  fixed  law  of  nature 
or  of  God."  Shortly  afterwards  he  was  chosen  by  his  classmates  to 
deliver  the  address  on  the  Centennial  of  Washington's  birthday. 
Another  event  of  his  Senior  year  was  a  religious  revival  in  the  College, 
as  a  result  of  which  he  was  baptized  in  Long  Island  Sound!  At 
Commencement  his  part  was  an  address  on  the  "Character  of  Daniel 
Boone."  His  stand  was  a  good  one,  entitling  him  to  a  Dissertation 
appointment. 

A  classmate  has  preserved  an  account  of  the  "rebellion"  in  their 
Senior  year.  It  is  of  interest  because  this  event  was  largely  due  to 
the  sectional  feeling  which  was  creating  the  national  crisis  that 
brought  Clay  to  the  front: 

The  class  of  1832  gained  a  sad  distinction,  in  being  the  subject  of  the  last 
great  rebellion,  the  greatest  of  all  college-performances  of  that  sort.  It  made  a 
fracture  throwing  out  nearly  half  the  members,  and  leaving  only  fifty-three  to 
receive  their  degrees ;  but  the  personal  bond  of  friendship  survived,  and  neither 
fragment  failed  to  attain  honorable  positions  in  life;  while  the  graduating  members 
have  been  among  the  foremost  advocates  of  the  college  and  contributors  to  its  needed 
pecuniary  aid.  It  would  be  pleasant  to  leave  this  item  of  history  unrecorded;  but 
the  matter  has  its  bearing  on  philosophy  and  the  progress  of  college-rule,  and  to 
that  extent  requires  mention. 

Two  students  of  ambitious  natures  were  rivals  for  the  chieftaincy  in  class- 
influence  and  the  preference  in  college-grade — one  from  the  North,  cold,  hard  and 
arrogant,  the  other  from  the  South,  venturesome,  crafty  and  popular — neither  of 
them  too  good  to  seek  for  rule  or  ruin.  It  was  in  dog-days,  and  the  long  lessons 
in  an  unskilfully  constructed  work  on  conic  sections  were  a  strain  on  the  majority, 
while  light  to  the  few  natural  mathematicians.  Such  was  the  occasion.  Dissatis- 
faction led  to  mutterings;  and  then  the  two  rivals  commenced  the  mischief,  and 
ran  a  race  in  winning  over  others  to  disajffection.  The  college-government  became 
next  in  fault.  The  affair  was  managed  badly.  It  is  not  well  to  fix  the  blame  in 
any  particular  quarter;  but  clearly  the  thing  might  have  been  dealt  with  like  the 
small-pox  panic,  and  with  equal  effect.  Alas,  it  was  not  so  to  be !  Conic  sections, 
overtasking,  dog-days,  reckless  rivals  and  official  harshness  combined  to  work  out  the 
bad  result.  The  experience  of  that  affair  did  not  instantly  correct  all  the  errors 
which  had  led  to  it;  for  not  many  months  later  the  remaining  members  of  the  Class 
felt  an  encroachment  and  a  grievance,  and  in  full  assembly  and  with  great  spirit 
uttered  their  sentiments.  There  was  an  ugly  prospect  of  a  fatal  repetition  of  the 
3  Ibid.,  p.  57. 

[338] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— CASSIUS  MARCELLUS  CLAY 

prior  scene.  But  as  we  had  our  own  way  the  elements  subsided,  and  the  class  of 
1832  went  on  in  peace  to  the  end,  and  finally  celebrated  its  Commencement  with 
great  eclat,  although  the  Asiatic  cholera  was  then  first  raging  in  New  York  and  the 
country  was  in  general  alarm.* 

Such  undergraduate  daj^s  of  storm  and  stress  seem  a  natural  prepa- 
ration for  the  hostihties  and  troubled  years  which  Clay  was  soon  to 
enter  upon  in  earnest. 

After  graduation  his  connection  with  the  College  was  slight. 
He  returned  once  to  lecture  on  "Economy  of  Pure  Breeds  of  Live 
Stock,"  and  when  he  published  his  racy  autobiography  he  presented 
a  copy  to  the  University  Librarj^  characteristically  writing  a  signed 
inscription  on  three  different  pages. 

The  main  events  in  his  career,  aside  from  his  military  record 
elsewhere  recorded,^  are  these.  After  studying  law,  he  served  several 
terms  in  the  Kentucky  Legislature,  where  he  was  conspicuous  for 
his  advocacy  of  free  schools  and  of  a  better  jury  system.  He  was 
an  early  anti-slavery  leader,  publishing  The  True  American,  which 
was  started  in  June,  1845,  and  stood  for  the  policy  of  gradual 
emancipation.  This  was  so  unpopular  that  he  had  to  fortify  his 
office,  but  in  spite  of  this  the  press  was  seized  and  carried  out  of  the 
state.  With  characteristic  energy  he  continued  the  publication  in 
Ohio.  Horace  Greeley,  in  an  appreciative  review  of  Clay's  anti- 
slavery  services,  says  that  this  was  "the  first  paper  which  ever  bearded 
the  monster  in  his  den,  and  dared  him  to  a  most  unequal  encounter. 
Its  establishment  was  a  public  and  widely  resounding  challenge  to 

the  slave  holding  oligarchy '"^    The  prospectus  stated  that  the 

paper  would  be  "devoted  to  gradual  and  constitutional  emancipation, 
so  as  at  some  definite  time  to  place  our  state  upon  the  firm,  safe,  and 
just  basis  of  liberty."^  Clay's  action  at  this  time,  as  the  representative 
of  a  prominent   Southern  family  in  the  midst  of  a  slave-holding 

4  "Sketches  from  Memory,"  by  Charles  Tracy  (B.A.  1832),  published  in  tlie  Appendix  of 
Biographical  Memoranda  .  ...  of  the  Class  of  1832.     [1880.] 

5  See  his  autograph  letter. 

6  Greeley,  Writings  of  Cassius  Marcellus  Clay,  pp.  vi,  vii. 
■!  Ibid.,  p.  211. 

[  339  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

constituency,  showed  much  courage,  and  was  a  great  help  to  the 
opponents  of  slavery  in  the  North.  As  Greeley  put  it,  he  stood 
"alone  among  five  millions,  raising  his  voice  against  the  iniquities  of 
human  slavery  on  the  soil  where  they  are  perpetrated."® 

He  served  creditably  in  the  Mexican  War,  and  on  his  return 
was  a  defeated  candidate  for  the  Kentucky  governorship.  He  was 
considered  for  the  War  portfolio  by  Lincoln  (whose  nomination  he 
had  advocated  at  the  Chicago  Convention).  He  was  urged  for  this 
position  by  some  of  the  most  representative  newspapers  and  public 
bodies  in  New  York  City,®  but  the  post  went  to  Cameron,  and  Clay 
was  appointed  Minister  to  Russia.  In  the  meantime  Washington 
was  being  attacked  and  he  organized  the  "Cassius  M.  Clay  Battalion 
of  Washington  Guards,"  which  rendered  good  service  in  the  defense 
of  the  capitol. 

His  most  important  contribution  to  the  political  life  of  the 
country  was  through  his  agitation  of  the  anti-slavery  and  emancipation 
views  already  mentioned.  These  made  him  a  conspicuous  figure,  not 
only  in  his  native  state  but  throughout  the  Union,  and  led  Lincoln 
to  send  him  on  a  secret  mission  to  Kentucky  just  prior  to  the  signing 
of  the  Emancipation  Proclamation.  His  judgment  was  often  at 
fault,  his  methods  open  to  criticism,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
he  was  an  important  factor,  especially  in  the  border  states,  in  creating 
and  encouraging  the  sentiment  which  led  to  the  abolition  of  slavery. 
Wendell  Phillips  wrote  to  him,  in  1862,  on  his  return  from  Russia: 

Now,  one  word  to  yourself.  Thank  you  heartily  for  coming  home.  We  need 
you  here.  Don't,  on  any  account,  go  away  again.  Your  birth,  a  Kentuckian,  your 
military  repute,  your  political  importance,  make  you  more  than  almost  any  man 
able  to  advise,  and  likely  to  have  your  advice  weighed.  I  consider  you  worth  at 
least  any  half  dozen  Northerners  just  now.  Now  press  the  Government  to  your 
views,  and  go  into  the  field  authorized  to  carry  them  out.  I  think  we  shall  succeed 
at  last;  but  it  seems  to  me  you  have  the  power  to  hasten  the  adoption  of  the  needed 
policy,  so  much  as  to  save  thousands  of  lives,  millions  of  dollars,  and  untold  dangers 
to  Republicanism  springing  from  the  continuance  of  such  a  war.^° 

8  Ibid.,  p.  vi. 

9  Life  of  Cassius  Marcellus  Clay,  Chapter  XIV. 

10  Ibid.,  pp.  583,  584. 

[340] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— CASSIUS  MARCELLUS  CLAY 

Similarly  the  poet  Bryant  wrote  him  two  years  earlier:  "The  great 
work  of  bringing  a  community  prejudiced  in  favor  of  slavery  to  see 
their  error,  and  to  permit  its  evils  to  be  freely  discussed,  has  been  laid 
upon  you,  and  you  have  shown  yourself  fully  equal  to  it.  He  may 
be  esteemed  a  fortunate  man  who  does  not  fall  below  the  occasion  to 
which  he  is  summoned.""  Clay  has  received  little  credit  from  the 
historians.  He  was  too  erratic  to  be  a  wise  guide,  and  too  egotistical 
and  violent  to  hold  long  the  confidence  of  the  public.  Yet  he  was 
seriously  considered  as  a  running  mate  with  Lincoln  in  his  first 
canvass,  being  second  only  to  Hannibal  Hamlin  in  the  number  of 
votes  received.  He  has  himself  given  us  a  characteristic  summary 
of  his  own  claims  to  fame : 

I  voluntarily  volunteered  to  save  Washington  from  capture,  and  did  so.  Whv 
was  that  service  forgotten?  I  did  more  than  any  man  to  overthrow  slavery.  I 
carried  Russia  with  us,  and  thus  prevented  what  would  have  been  the  strong  alliance 
of  France,  England,  and  Spain  against  us;  and  thus  was  saved  the  Union!  I  was 
one  of  the  principal  factors,  at  least  so  all  admit,  in  these  three  great  events. ^^ 

Of  course  this  is  absurd,  and  we  are  not  surprised  that  in  his  last  years 
his  mind  became  seriously  affected,  but  in  the  final  analysis,  his 
influence  in  bringing  on  the  great  contest  was  not  inconsiderable. 
Greeley  realized  the  significance  of  the  man  when  he  edited  his 
speeches,  prefixing  to  them  a  laudatory  memoir.  Clay  was  dead  in 
earnest  in  his  views  of  freedom  and  of  liberty,  but  he  was  too  addicted 
to  frontier  methods  of  enforcing  his  convictions  to  become  an 
influential  statesman.  He  was  a  free  lance,  using  his  pen  and  his 
voice  constantly  against  slavery  and  other  forms  of  oppression,  and 
his  gun  all  too  freely  in  duels  against  those  with  whom  he  was  at  odds. 
It  should  be  remembered  to  his  credit  that  he  was  a  vigorous  supporter 
of  Berea  College  and  gave  the  institution  some  of  its  present  property. 
Perhaps  his  most  notable  service  was  his  successful  insistence  on 
the  right  of  free  speech  in  Kentucky  in  the  years  immediately  pre- 
ceding the   Civil   War.     In  his   later  life  he   was   fond   of  laying 

11  Ibid.,  p.  576.        12  Ibid.,  p.  462. 

[341] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

emphasis  on  the  friendly  relations  which  he  had  helped  to  establish 
between  the  United  States  and  Russia,  and  believed  that  these  were 
important  preliminaries  to  the  purchase  of  Alaska. 

His  own  autobiography,  The  Life  of  Cassius  Marcellus  Clay, 
and  Horace  Greeley's  The  Writings  of  Cassius  Marcellus  Clay  show 
the  man's  personality  in  bold  relief. 


C.  M.  Clay 

White  Hall  P.  O. 
Jan :  5 :  1880.  Mad.  Co.  Ky. 

Dear  Sir, 

Your  favor  of  the  29*^  Dec^  ulto.  is  received.  I  have  no  military  order 
preserved.  As  Colonel  or  Major,  by  courtesy,  commanding  the  "Clay 
battalion"  James  Lane  of  Kansas  acting  as  2^.  in  command,  though  not 
commissioned,  I  guarded  Washington  in  the  spring  of  1861,  till  I  was  relieved 
by  the  Regiments  from  N.  York  &  Massachusetts.  I  was  supplied  by  Gen^ 
Scott  with  arms :  &  received  from  A.  Lincoln,  President,  a  Colt's  revolver : 
which  I  now  have,  in  honor  of  my  services. 

By  request  of  Gen^  L.  Wallace  I  took  command  of  his  corps  of  mixed 
Arms  at  Lexington,  Ky.  in  the  fall  of  1862,  &  was  marching  against  Kirby 
Smith  then  threatening  Richmond,  when  I  was  relieved  by  Genl.  W™.  Nelson 
near  the  Ky.  river.  I  was  then  Major  General  of  U.  S.  volunteers,  and  on  a 
secret  mission  to  the  Ky.  Legislature,  sent  by  the  President  Lincoln,  which 
I  fulfilled  to  his  satisfaction — issuing  his  emancipation  proclamation  as  soon 
as  received  my  report,  in  Sept^  2.  1862. 

Yours  truly 
C.  M.  Clay 

ex.  Maj"*  General  U.  States  Volunteers 
B.  Perry  Esq. 

Belmont  N.  Jersey 
U.  S.  A.a 

Clay  also  served  in  the  Mexican  War  as  Captain  of  General 
Harrison's  "Old  Infantry."  He  was  proud  of  the  part  he  played 
in  defending  Washington,  in  1861,  and  received  a  special  letter  of 
thanks  for  these  services,  signed  both  by  President  Lincoln  and 
Secretary  Cameron. 

[342] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— RICHARD  TAYLOR 

Richard  Taylor 
Class  of  1845 

Born,  January  27,  1826;  Died,  April  12,  1879 
Confederate  General 

Yale  has  graduated  only  one  President  of  the  United  States, 
but  she  has  had  on  her  rolls  the  sons  of  three  Presidents,  Zachary 
Taylor,  Martin  Van  Buren,  and  William  Howard  Taft.  Zachary 
Taylor  was  a  soldier  before  he  was  President,  so  the  son  came 
naturally  to  his  brilliant  military  career. 

He  was  born  in  New  Orleans,  and  was  educated  by  tutors  and 
at  private  schools  at  home  and  abroad,  until  he  entered  the  Junior 
class  in  the  autumn  of  1843,  after  a  few  months  of  study  at  Harvard. 
His  thorough  classical  training  had  given  him  literary  interests  so 
that  he  appreciated  the  privileges  of  the  College  Library.  He  was 
a  voracious,  although  somewhat  desultory,  reader.  His  combination 
of  intellectual  ability  and  social  charm  gave  him  a  prominent  place 
in  the  class,  and  he  belonged  to  the  oldest  of  the  Senior  societies. 
Although  his  actual  stand  under  the  marking  system  of  the  time  was 
not  high,  a  classmate  describes  him  as  "an  excellent  scholar  .... 
handsome,  always  finely  dressed  and  a  popular  and  genial  fellow."^ 
The  impression  which  he  made  on  his  contemporaries  was  that  of  a 
Southern  gentleman — courteous,  generous,  talented,  and  rather  easy- 
going. He  lived  outside  of  College  at  what  was  then  19  Chapel 
Street.  A  classmate  recalls  this  incident  as  illustrating  his  generous 
spirit : 

On  one  occasion  he  was  present  at  one  of  the  religious  meetings  in  the  old 
Theological  Chamber.  A  collection  was  taken  up,  I  think  it  was  for  foreign 
Missions.  Dick  threw  in  ten  dollars !  This  was  so  extraordinary,  at  that  day,  and 
for  a  student  who  was  not  identified  with  the  religious  activities  of  the  College, 
that  it  made  a  deep  impression  on  us,  and  was  talked  of  for  some  time,  to  Dick's 
credit.^ 

1  MS.  Letter  from  C.  C.  Esty. 

2  MS.  Letter  from  Rev.  Thomas  K.  Davis. 

[343] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

One  who  knew  him  well  as  an  undergraduate,  writing  shortly  after 
his  death,  said:  "He  was  a  man  of  good  abilities,  but  rather  lazy, 
and  won  no  special  distinction  in  college.  But  he  was  very  popular 
in  his  class,  a  genial  companion,  full  of  fun  and  frolic,  and  known  as 
a  kind-hearted,  good  fellow."^ 

Taylor's  college  life  was  passed  in  the  relatively  quiet  days  at 
the  close  of  President  Day's  administration. 

The  tone  of  the  College  was  good,  and  we  had,  on  the  whole,  rather  quiet  times 
during  our  college  career.  The  days  of  "Class  Bullies"  and  of  scrimmages  with 
the  town  boys  were  over,  and  the  days  of  college  athletics  had  not  begun.  Ball 
playing  had  not  as  yet  been  reduced  to  a  science,  and  there  were  no  base-ball  nines 
or  foot-ball  teams ;  neither  was  there  any  boat  crew.  Even  the  "fence"  was  not  the 
institution  which  it  afterwards  became.  Do  not  imagine,  however,  that  with  us  it 
was  "all  work  and  no  play."  We  had  our  sports,  and  managed  to  extract  as  much 
fun  out  of  college  life  as  was  consistent  with  proper  attention  to  the  solid  work 
that  had  brought  us  here. 

We  were  subjected  to  one  hardship,  of  which  the  later  generations  know 
nothing,  and  that  was — early  attendance  at  morning  prayers  [fall  and  winter  six, 
summer  five]  and  recitations.'^ 

As  was  to  be  expected  of  a  loyal  son  of  the  South,  Taylor  was 

elected  an  honorary  member  of  Calliope,  the  young  rival  of  Linonia 

and  of  Brothers.     This   society  had  the   advantage  of  helping  to 

maintain  a  strong  Southern  tradition  at  the  University,   but  the 

disadvantage  of  tending  to  divide  a  class  on  sectional  lines.     In  the 

preface  of  its  catalogue,  published  in  1839,  are  these  words: 

By  a  long  established  custom,  which  appears  now  to  wear  the  sanctity  of  a 
law  by  prescription,  but  few  inhabitants  of  the  New  England  states  have  oflfered 
themselves  as  candidates  for  admission;  and,  of  consequence,  the  whole  number 
of  the  body  has  been  always  smaller  than  that  of  its  two  sister  associations.^ 

The  literary  societies  were  then  at  their  height,  the  great  constitutional 
questions  which  preceded  the  Civil  War  affording  vital  matters  for 
discussion.     Their  influence  on  the  development  of  their  members 

3  Congressman  Kellogg  (B.A.  1846)  in  Waterbury  American. 

■*  Rev.  Dr.  H.  B.  Chapin  (B.A.  1847),  Jubilee  Anniversary  Report  of  the  Class  of  18^1, 
p.  99.  The  most  exciting  event  of  this  period  was  the  stabbing  of  Tutor  Dwight  in  the  autumn 
of  1843. 

5  Catalogue  of  the  Calliopean  Society,  p.  4,  As  Taylor  did  not  enter  Yale  until  Junior 
year  he  was  merely  elected  an  "honorary  member."  The  election  took  place  at  the  824th 
meeting  of  the  society. 

[344] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— RICHARD  TAYLOR 

was  fully  recognized.  In  fact,  the  main  lament  of  the  graduates  of 
the  thirties,  forties,  and  early  fifties,  on  returning  to  New  Haven 
after  the  war,  was  the  decline  of  these  old  clubs.  As  a  representative 
graduate,  who  was  in  Yale  with  Taylor,  said  at  an  alumni  meeting  a 
half  century  later,  "We  cannot  but  feel  that  it  was  a  sad  day  for  the 
College  when  these  Societies  ceased  to  exist,  for  they  filled  a  place 
in  the  training  of  young  men  which  the  ordinary  curriculum  of  the 
college  does  not  and  cannot  fill."^ 

Soon  after  graduation  he  joined  the  army  under  his  father's 
command  on  the  Rio  Grande.  He  took  part  in  several  engagements 
of  the  Mexican  War,  including  the  important  battle  of  Palo  Alto, 
and  remained  in  the  field  until  the  autumn  of  1846,  when  ill  health 
forced  his  retirement.  He  then  took  up  the  life  of  a  Southern  planter, 
serving  also  in  the  Louisiana  Senate,  and  identifying  himself  in 
various  ways  with  the  political  movements  of  the  time. 

When  the  war  broke  out  he  went  to  the  front  as  Colonel  of  a 
Louisiana  regiment.  In  the  autumn  of  1861,  he  was  promoted  to  a 
Brigadier  Generalship,  and  led  his  brigade  with  distinguished  success 
in  the  Valley  campaign  under  "Stonewall"  Jackson.  The  latter 
presented  him  with  a  battery  of  artillery,  in  view  of  the  gallantry  of 
his  troops  in  capturing  Port  Republic,  and  recommended  his  promo- 
tion. He  was  prominent  in  the  operations  against  General  McClellan 
at  Cold  Harbor  and  elsewhere.  These  services  won  him  a  Major 
Generalship  and  transfer  to  the  command  of  Louisiana.  Here  his 
success  in  building  up  an  effective  army  out  of  almost  nothing,  and 
equipping  it,  mainly  by  captures  from  Union  troops,  was  brilliant. 
During  this  time  he  was  so  active  that  he  kept  a  large  federal  force 
occupied,  until  May,  1864,  when,  with  only  eight  thousand  men,  he 
attacked  General  Banks  with  forty  thousand,  gaining  a  memorable 
victory,  with  twenty-two  guns  and  many  prisoners  as  visible  evidence 
of  his  achievement.     This,  and  his  subsequent  engagements,  termi- 

8  Rev.  Dr.  H.  B.  Chapin  (B.A.  1847),  Jubilee  Anniversary  Report  of  the  Class  of  I847, 
p.  103. 

[  345  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

nated  the  Louisiana  campaign,  which  won  for  General  Taylor  a 
Lieutenant  Generalship,  with  transfer  to  the  command  of  Alabama, 
Mississippi,  etc.  Later  he  succeeded  Hood  as  leader  of  the  Army  of 
the  Tennessee.  In  1865,  being  informed  of  Lee's  surrender  and  of 
the  capture  of  President  Davis,  he  gave  over  his  eight  thousand  troops 
to  General  Canby,  near  Meridian,  Mississippi.  He  retained  his  horse, 
which  was  practically  his  onlj^  property,  as  his  sugar  estate  had  been 
confiscated.  The  sale  of  the  horse  gave  him  the  means  of  removing 
his  family  to  New  Orleans,  which  was  afterwards  his  home. 
As  a  military  officer  few  men  in  the  Southern  Army  surpassed 
him  in  promptness  of  action,  fertility  of  resource,  discipline,  and 
administrative  skill. 

General  Taylor  was  a  man  of  unusual  intellectual  and  social 
charm.  He  was  a  prince  among  raconteurs,  his  reputation  as  a  teller 
of  Southern  stories  having  extended  even  to  England,  where  his 
Destruction  and  Reconstruction  was  published  and  gained  much 
attention.  It  is  a  valuable  first-hand  account  of  the  Civil  War,  and 
of  the  years  immediately  following,  from  the  standpoint  of  an  ardent 
Southern  sympathizer.  It  is  written  with  spirit  and  independence. 
It  shows  that  its  author  used  the  influence  of  his  position  to  try  to 
heal  the  wounds  of  the  nation — a  fact  also  evidenced  by  his  accepting 
later  an  election  as  one  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Peabody  Southern 
Education  Fund.  To  his  skill  as  a  military  commander  he  added  a 
knowledge  of  history  and  of  literature,  keen  wit,  and  the  highest  sense 
of  honor,  traits  which  made  him  a  fine  example  of  the  old-time 
Southern  gentleman. 


Head  Qrs  8*^  Brigade  D.  N.  Va 
Camp  Bellcvue  March  14*^  1862 
General 

In  reply  to  your  communication  of  this  date  I  have  the  honour  to  suggest 
the  following  named  officers  of  my  command  as  suitable  to  compose  a  court 
martial,  there  are  still  three  required  to  fill  up  the  requisite  number  which  I 
am  unable  to  supply  from  my  command — 

[346] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— RICHARD  TAYLOR 

[Here  follow  the  names  of  Lt.  Col.  Nichols  and  of  eight  other  officers  of 
Louisiana  regiments,  also  the  name  of  Lieutenant  Flower  suggested  for  Judge 
Advocate.] 

Respectfully  Yr  obt  Servt 
R.  Taylor 

Brig  Genl  Comdg. 
To 

Maj  Genl  Ewell 

Comdg  S^  Division  D.  N.  Va 

The  brevity  of  the  letter  and  its  form  of  expression  are  easily 
understood  when  it  is  realized  that  it  was  written  in  the  midst  of  the 
Shenandoah  Valley  campaign  under  General  Jackson.  Taylor  had 
entered  Virginia  almost  a  year  before  as  Colonel  of  the  Ninth 
Louisiana  Volunteers.  The  letter  is  addressed  to  Richard  Stoddert 
Ewell,  later  in  command  of  the  second  corps  of  the  Confederate 
Army. 


[347] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Theodore  Winthrop 
Class  of  1848 

Born,  September  22,  1828;  Died,  June  10,  1861 
Patriot  and  Author 

It  is  fortunate  for  a  University  when  it  can  point  to  a  man  of 
Winthrop's  culture  and  character  as  its  representative  hero  in  a 
righteous  war.  His  novels  entitle  him  to  a  place  among  Yale's  men 
of  letters,  but  the  fact  that  he  was  the  first  Union  officer  to  die  in 
action  in  the  Civil  War  has  given  him  an  historical  position  as  a  patriot 
more  enduring  than  his  literary  reputation. 

He  inherited  the  best  blood  of  New  England,  tracing  his  descent 
on  the  paternal  side  from  John  Winthrop,  and  on  his  mother's  side 
from  that  prolific  progenitor  of  intellect  and  character,  Jonathan 
Edwards.  No  graduate  has  had  a  nobler  Yale  inheritance  and 
connection.  The  roots  go  down  to  Benjamin  Woolsey  (B.A.  1709), 
Jonathan  Edwards  (B.A.  1720),  and  John  Still  Winthrop  (B.A. 
1737),  and  his  relatives  included  three  Yale  Presidents — his  uncle, 
Dr.  Woolsey,  and  the  two  Dwights.  His  father,  Francis  Bayard 
Winthrop,  was  a  Yale  graduate  (B.A.  1804) ,  a  New  York  merchant, 
and  a  man  of  much  culture,  who  removed  to  New  Haven,  in  1823, 
because  of  the  town's  educational  advantages.  Here  Theodore  was 
born  in  a  house  on  Wooster  Street.  He  entered  college  when  sixteen, 
a  high-spirited  but  sensitive  fellow  of  pure  character,  deep  refinement, 
and  much  intellectual  curiosity.  He  was  liked  by  his  classmates,  but 
was  rather  too  fastidious  about  dress,  manners,  and  personal  appear- 
ance^ to  appeal  very  strongly  to  a  rather  rough-and-ready  college 
generation.  In  Freshman  3^ear  he  was  rusticated  for  a  short  time, 
as  indicated  in  this  Faculty  vote,  which  shows  that  Winthrop  was 
akin  to   most   men   of   letters   in   having   some   difficulty   with   the 

1  See  article  on  "Theodore  Winthrop"  in  Yale  Literary  Magazine,  Vol.  XXVII,  p.  195. 

[348] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— THEODORE  WINTHROP 

authorities  as  an  undergraduate:  "Theodore  Winthrop  of  the 
Sophomore  Class  having  been  detected  in  breaking  windows  on  the 
night  of  Saturday,  Nov.  2nd,  it  was  voted  that  he  be  dismissed  from 
College.""  He  showed  promise  during  the  latter  part  Ox  his  course 
of  excellent  scholarship,  Greek  and  mental  philosophy  being  the 
studies  in  which  he  was  most  deeply  interested.  His  stand  at 
graduation  was  of  Dissertation  rank,  which  represented  a  step  up 
from  the  Junior  Appointment  list.  In  his  journal  for  his  twentieth 
birthday,  he  gives  a  brief  summary  of  his  undergraduate  life : 

The  next  thing  of  importance  was  my  entering  college  in  August,  1843.  I  took 
a  good  standing  on  my  entrance,  from  previous  knowledge,  without  any  study.  I 
had  no  desire  to  excel;  I  was  idle  and  reckless  all  the  first  year,  till  on  Nov.  11th, 
1844,  I  was  dismissed  from  college  for  breaking  Freshmen's  windows.  I  spent  the 
winter  idly  with  my  brother  Edward  in  Marietta,  Ohio,  and  came  home  with  better 
hopes.     I  wasted  the  summer,  and  at  last  entered  Yale  again,  still  idle,  till  about 

Christmas,  I  saw,  and  loved,  as  the  influence  upon  me  showed.  Miss  ,  and 

immediately  gave  up  the  folly  that  had  possessed  me.     This  prepared  the  way  for 

the  entrance  of  God's  spirit  into  my  heart,  for  in  March  next  following,  Mrs.  , 

speaking  to  me  on  my  choice  of  a  profession,  made  me  first  think,  to  any  effect, 
of  my  relation  to  a  distant  future,  and  this  was  my  first  step  in  what  was  certainly 
a  new  life.  I  was  confirmed  that  summer,  and  took  the  communion  on  the  first 
Sunday  in  August.  At  that  time,  the  young  lady  whom  I  mentioned  above  continued 
to  exercise  a  great  influence  over  me,  though  I  never  knew  her,  or  exchanged  a  word 
with  her  in  my  life,  and  I  shall  always,  even  if  I  never  see  her  again,  retain  a  very 
grateful  feeling  towards  her,  for  an  influence  so  entirely  unconscious  as  it  must 
have  been.  In  April,  1848,  I  was  examined  for  the  Berkeleian  scholarship,  and 
declared  equal  to  Colton,  my  competitor;  drew  lots  with  him  and  lost.  This  I 
believe  brings  the  chronicle  down  to  historic  times. ^ 

This  reference  to  his  early  love  for  a  girl  whom  he  had  never  met  was, 
of  course,  intended  for  no  eyes  but  his  own,  but  the  experience  is 
worthy  of  record.  It  was,  perhaps,  an  extreme  case,  yet  there  are 
many  men,  more  than  we  realize,  who  are  kept  to  pure  and  high  ideals 
as  undergraduates  because  of  their  devotion  to  some  young  woman 
of  refinement  and  strong  character.  In  fact,  life  histories,  which  the 
author  has  been  privileged  to  know  of  students  of  many  college 

2  MS.  Faculty  Records,  November  6,  1844. 

3  Life  and  Poems  of  Theodore  Winthrop,  p.  19. 

[349] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

generations,  lead  him  to  think  such  friendships,  when  really  worthy 
of  the  name,  among  the  potent  factors  in  helping  young  men  to  pass 
safely  through  the  critical  years  of  late  youth  and  early  manliood. 
Just  before  graduation  he  wrote  in  a  class  autograph  album 
preserved  in  the  University  Library,  these  words : 

'Tempora  mutantur/  we  are  pushed  off  the  stage  of  college  life,  the  Shawmut 
passes  into  other  hands,  but  the  memories  of  the  pleasant  times  we  had  in  her,  remain 
and  ever  will. 

His  journal  for  Commencement  Day  throws  interesting  light  on  his 
college  course,  especially  on  the  ideals  of  study  which  dominated  its 
latter  half: 

Friday,  August  25th,  1848.  Commencement,  with  all  its  anxieties  and  interests, 
has  passed.  If  I  am  not  contented  with  my  lot,  no  one  can  be.  One  thing  I  can 
feel  now,  and  that  is  how  much  I  owe  to  my  mother,  and  to  the  influences  of  home, 
which  have  done  so  much  for  my  character.  My  mother  is  worthy  of  all  love  and 
admiration,  and  of  all  care  on  my  part,  and  I  pray  that  I  may  feel  this  as  I  ought ! 
Another  thing  I  have  learned  is,  that  no  effort  is  thrown  away,  as  in  preparing  for 
these  scholarships.  I  have  done  something,  yet  how  little  to  what  I  might  have 
done,  but  this  little  has  made  me  Clark  Scholar,  and  but  for  drawing  lots,  would 
have  made  me  Berkeleian.  Labor !  labor  is  the  great  thing.  Now  I  see  how  much 
better  it  was;  if  I  had  drawn  the  lot  probably  I  should  not  have  studied  for  the 
Clark  and  gained  the  higher  honor,  and  should  not  have  had  the  advantages  of  the 
study  for  it,  which  has  done  me  more  good  than  all  the  studies  perhaps  of  my 
previous  life ;  more  than  the   Berkeleian,  though  that  was   an   introduction   and   a 

discipline  for  it The  future  is  before  me !     I  am  a  man !     The  motives  of 

college  exist  for  me  no  longer,  the  rewards  which  a  man  receives  from  the  world 
are  more  distant,  and  perhaps  more  uncertain.  Now,  it  must  be  study  for  study's 
sake,  and  from  a  sense  of  duty  only ;  henceforth  I  must  work  like  a  man  and  perhaps 
like  a  horse.  What  a  man  is  at  twenty,  when  his  character  is  nearly  formed,  there 
are  many  chances  that  he  will  be  through  life.  Before  twenty  we  have  nearly  all 
chosen  what  we  will  be.* 

The  Commencement  "anxieties"  probably  had  special  reference  to  his 
dissertation.  It  was  on  "The  Study  of  the  Beautiful  necessary  to  a 
Liberal  Education" — a  theme  in  harmony  with  his  family  tradition 
and  with  his  own  interests.  The  last  sentence  in  the  quotation  above 
is  interesting,  for  there  is  no  clear  evidence  that  he  had  as  yet  chosen 

4  Ibid.,  p.  17. 

[350] 


Theodore  Wixthrop 

Class  of   1848 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

generations,  lead  him  to  think  such  friendships,  when  really  worthy 
of  the  name,  among  the  potent  factors  in  helping  young  men  to  pass 
safely  through  the  critical  years  of  late  youth  and  early  manliood. 
Just  before  graduation  he  wrote  in  a  class  autograph  album 
preserved  in  the  University  Library,  these  words : 

'Tempora  mutantur/  we  are  pushed  off  the  stage  of  college  life,  the  Shawmut 
passes  into  other  hands,  but  the  memories  of  the  pleasant  times  we  had  in  her,  remain 
and  ever  will. 

His  journal  for  Commencement  Day  throws  interesting  light  on  his 
college  course,  especially  on  the  ideals  of  study  which  dominated  its 
latter  half: 

Friday,  August  25th,  1848.  Commencement,  with  all  its  anxieties  and  interests, 
has  passed.  If  I  am  not  contented  with  my  lot,  no  one  can  be.  One  thing  I  can 
feel  now,  and  that  is  how  much  I  owe  to  my  mother,  and  to  the  influences  of  home, 
which  have  done  so  much  for  my  character.  My  mother  is  worthy  of  all  love  and. 
admiration,  and  of  all  care  on  my  part,  and  I  pray  that  I  may  feel  this  as  I  ought ! 
Another  thing  I  have  learned  is,  that  no  effort  is  thrown  away,  as  in  preparing  for 
these  scholarships.  I  have  done?  something,  yet  how  little  to  what  I  might  have 
done,  but  this  little  has  made  me  Clark  Scholar,  and  but  for  drawing  lots,  would 
have  made  me  Berkeleian.  Labor !  labor  is  the  great  thing.  Now  I  see  how  much 
better  it  was;  if  I  had  drawn  the  lot  probably  I  should  not  have  studied  for  the 
Clark  and  gained  the  higher  lionor,  and  should  not  have  had  the  advantages  of  the 
study  for  it,  which  has  done  me  more  good  than  all  the  studies  perhaps  of  my 
previous  life;  more  than  the  Berkeleian,  though  that  was  an  introduction  and  a 

discipline  for  it The  future  is  before  me !     I  am  a  man !     The  motives  of 

college  exist  for  me  no  longer,  the  rewards  which  a  man  receives  from  the  world 
are  more  distant,  and  perhaps  more  uncertain.  Now,  it  must  be  study  for  study's 
sake,  and  from  a  sense  of  duty  only ;  henceforth  I  must  work  like  a  man  and  perhaps 
like  a  horse.  What  a  man  is  at  twenty,  when  his  character  is  nearly  formed,  there 
are  many  chances  that  he  will  be  through  life.  Before  twenty  we  have  nearly  all 
chosen  what  we  will  be.* 

The  Commencement  "anxieties"  probably  had  special  reference  to  his 
dissertation.  It  was  on  "The  Study  of  the  Beautiful  necessary  to  a 
Liberal  Education" — a  theme  in  harmony  with  his  family  tradition 
and  with  his  own  interests.  The  last  sentence  in  the  quotation  above 
is  interesting,  for  ther^(>^»J'^4l^'  gi»eteoa^l!iat  he  had  as  yet  chosen 

*Ihid.,  p.  17.  (iiriil   to  eaAjD 

[350] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— THEODORE  WINTHROP 

his  own  life  work.  He  had  considered  both  the  ministry  and  teaching, 
but  rehgious  difficulties,  which  rendered  him  temporarily  unliappy, 
and  increasing  ill  health,  made  it  seem  to  him  best  to  abandon  further 
study  in  New  Haven  on  the  Clark  foundation,  and  to  take  a  European 
trip.  This  he  did,  but  the  year  of  graduate  work  at  Yale  in  mental 
science,  languages,  and  history  was  an  important  factor  in  his 
education.  The  doubts  that  assailed  him  did  not  have  as  their  final 
result  the  weakening  of  his  fundamental  convictions.  A  friend  of  his 
mature  years  writes: 

In  the  later  days,  when  I  knew  him,  the  feverish  ardor  of  the  first  religious 
impulse  was  past.  It  had  given  place  to  a  faith  much  too  deep  and  sacred  to  talk 
about,  yet  holding  him  always  with  serene,  steady  poise  in  the  purest  region  of  life 
and  feeling.  There  was  no  franker  or  more  sympathetic  companion  for  young  men 
of  his  own  age  than  he;  but  his  conversation  fell  from  his  lips  as  unsullied  as  his 
soul.° 

The  next  five  years  were  mainly  spent  in  travel,  although  he  was 
engaged  for  part  of  the  time  in  business  in  New  York  and  Panama. 
His  literary  and  artistic  tastes  made  him  enjoy  Europe  to  the  full. 
He  also  got  much  from  his  trip  to  Central  America,  and  back  over- 
land from  California  and  Oregon  to  New  York,  and  from  the  hard 
year  sj^ent  as  a  volunteer  under  Lieutenant  Strain  in  surveying  a 
canal  route  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  On  his  return  from  these 
wanderings,  in  which  he  was  gaining  much  experience,  and  literary 
material  for  The  Canoe  and  the  Saddle,  Life  in  the  Open,  and  his 
novels,  he  began  the  study  of  law  in  New  York  with  one  of  the  leaders 
of  the  Bar,  Charles  Tracy  (B.A.  1832) .  He  was  admitted  to  practice 
the  following  year.  In  spite  of  legal  work,  and  of  political  speeches 
in  the  interest  of  John  C.  Fremont  for  the  presidency,  this  second 
period  of  his  life  was  mainly  devoted  to  literature.  The  first  of  his 
productions  to  appear  in  print  was  a  description  of  Frederic  E. 
Church's  famous  painting.  The  Heart  of  the  Andes,  now  an  exces- 
sively rare  book,  greatly  sought  after  by  bibliophiles.  He  worked 
hard  at  his  novels,  rewriting  them  after  each  rejection  by  a  publisher. 

5  George  William  Curtis,  in  Biographical  Sketch  prefixed  to  Cecil  Dreeme,  p.  9. 

[351] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

He  refused,  however,  to  omit  the  account  of  the  death  of  the  horse 
"Don  Fulano"  in  John  Brent,  although  one  firm  was  wilhng  to 
accept  the  manuscript  subject  to  this  change.  It  was  not  until  after 
his  death  that  his  novels  were  published,  so  Winthrop  died  entirely 
ignorant  of  his  fame,  which  was  high  in  the  years  following  the  Civil 
War.  As  one  of  the  speakers  at  the  commemorative  celebration  in 
Alumni  Hall  at  the  war's  close  said,  "There  was  our  own  Winthrop, 
whose  modest  worth  and  accomplished  genius  was  hidden  from  the 
world,  till  it  flashed,  like  the  sunlight  of  consecration,  from  his  young 
and  manl}^  grave."^  Cecil  Dreeme  had  been  accepted  earlier,  but  its 
publication  was  delayed.  It  passed  through  several  editions  and 
received  high  commendation.  One  English  critic  went  so  far  as  to 
say  that  "With  all  its  defects  of  irregular  construction,  this  novel 
is  marked  by  a  more  distinct  vein  of  original  genius  than  any 
American  work  of  fiction  known  to  us  that  has  appeared  since  the 
author's  death."^  James  Russell  Lowell  was  so  pleased  by  his  tale. 
Love  and  Skates,  which  he  accepted  for  the  Atlantic,  that  he  asked 
him  to  write  an  account  of  the  march  to  Washington.  This  appeared 
later  in  two  articles  which  attracted  wide  attention ;  but  it  is  upon  his 
posthumous  novels,  Cecil  Dreeme,  John  Brent,  and  Edwin  Brother- 
toft,  that  his  literary  reputation  mainly  rests.  These  gave  promise 
of  real  power,  and,  had  their  author  lived,  it  is  probable  that  his  name 
would  have  been  grouped  in  this  volume  under  Authors,  rather  than 
under  Patriots.  Professor  Beers  thinks  Cecil  Dreeme  his  best  work. 
He  calls  it  "a  romance  that  reminds  one  a  little  of  Hawthorne,"  and 
speaks  of  the  "dash  and  buoj^ancy"  which  characterize  its  author's 
style.^  But  it  is  not  unlikely  that  his  work  which  will  be  longest  read 
is  The  Canoe  and  the  Saddle,  a  lively  story  of  adventure  in  the  great 
Northwest,  which  has  just  been  republished  (1913)  with  biographical 
and  historical  notes. 

Attention  must  now  be  directed  to  the  short  but  pregnant  period 

«  Commemorative  Celebration,  p.  54. 

7  Quoted  in  Appleton,  American  Biography,  Vol.  VI,  p.  577. 

8  Beers,  An  Outline  Sketch  of  American  Literature,  pp.  244,  245. 

[352] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— THEODORE  WINTHROP 

of  the  war.  He  and  his  brother,  William  Woolsey  Winthrop  (B.A. 
1851),  whose  military''  career  was  also  a  creditable  one,  joined  the 
Seventh  Regiment  of  New  York  as  privates.  They  marched  off 
April  17,  1861.  He  said  to  his  mother  as  he  bade  her  good-bye,  "I 
do  not  take  this  step  lightly,"^  and  to  his  uncle,  President  Woolsey, 
he  wrote  the  day  he  left  New  York:  "I  go  down  to  the  front  for  the 
purpose  of  lending  my  aid  to  the  great  work  of  attempting  to  get  rid 
of  slavery  in  this  country."^" 

When  he  met  his  death  he  was  serving  as  General  Benjamin  F. 
Butler's  military  secretary  and  aide,  with  the  rank  of  INIajor. 
Fortress  Monroe  was  their  base,  and  Winthrop,  eager  for  active 
service,  secured  from  his  chief  permission  to  go  as  a  volunteer  in  the 
reconnoissance  about  Big  Bethel,  which  he  had  helped  to  plan. 
General  Magruder,  in  charge  of  the  Confederate  forces,  reported  that 
as  the  Union  troops  were  about  to  be  driven  back  "Major  Winthrop 
was  distinctly  seen  for  some  time,  leading  a  body  of  men  to  the  charge, 
and  had  mounted  a  log,  and  was  waving  his  sword  and  shouting  to 
his  men  to  'Come  on,'  when  a  North  Carolina  drummer  boy  borrowed 
a  gun,  leaped  on  to  the  batterj^,  and  shot  him  deliberately  in  the 
breast.  He  fell  nearer  to  the  enemy's  works  than  any  other  man  went 
during  the  fight."^^  George  William  Curtis  has  entered  deeply  into 
the  spirit  of  that  last  scene  which  made  the  memory  of  Winthrop  a 
national  possession: 

For  one  moment  that  brave,  inspiring  form  is  plainly  visible  to  his  whole 
country,  rapt  and  calm,  standing  upon  the  log  nearest  the  enemy's  battery,  the  mark 
of  their  sharpshooters,  the  admiration  of  their  leaders,  waving  his  sword,  cheering 
his  fellow-soldiers  with  his  bugle  voice  of  victory, — young,  brave,  beautiful,  for  one 
moment  erect  and  glowing  in  the  wild  whirl  of  battle,  the  next  falling  toward  the 
foe,  dead,  but  triumphant.^^ 

He  died  as  he  longed  to  die,  bravely,  in  battle.  Some  time  before  he 
had  written  these  prophetic  words : 

9  Life  and  Poems  of  Theodore  Winthrop,  p.  284. 

10  Woolsey's  address  at  the  Commemorative  Celebration,  July  26,  1865. 

11  Life  and  Poems  of  Theodore  Winthrop,  p.  292. 

12  Biographical  Sketch  prefixed  to  Cecil  Dreeme,  p.  19. 

[  353  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Let  me  not  waste  in  skirmishing  my  power 
In  petty  struggles.     Rather  in  the  hour 
Of  deadly  conflict  may  I  nobly  die, 
In  my  first  battle  perish  gloriously. ^^ 

The  last  tributes  of  respect  to  his  memorj^  were  paid  in  New  Haven, 
where  his  simple  monument  in  the  Grove  Street  Cemetery  has  been 
an  inspiration  to  many.  "When  I  die,  put  a  granite  cross  over  my 
grave,"  had  been  his  request,  and  it  was  observed.  The  students  of 
Yale  followed  the  body  to  its  last  resting  place,  where  Professor 
Porter  delivered  an  address. 

His  life  was  brief,  but  culture,  character,  and  high  ideals 
permeated  it  from  beginning  to  end.  Had  he  lived  he  would  prob- 
ably have  acquired  greater  literary  fame,  but  he  could  have  done 
nothing  to  increase  the  honor  in  wliich  he  was  held  by  his  Alma  Mater, 
which  felt  that  his  memor\^  had  been  consecrated  for  all  time  by  his 
heroic  death  at  Big  Bethel.  Unfortunateh^  he  has  no  memorial  at 
the  Universitj%  although  when  the  D.K.E.  Society  was  incorporated, 
in  1865,  it  was  called  the  Winthrop  Trust  Association,  after  the 
graduate  then  considered  to  be  its  most  distinguished  member. 

The  material  for  this  account  has  been  mainly  derived  from  two 
sources:  George  William  Curtis'  Biographical  Sketch  prefixed  to 
Cecil  Dreeme,  and  The  Life  and  Poems  of  Theodore  Winthrop, 
edited  by  his  sister. 


Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company, 

New- York,  July  11*^  1851. 
Dear  Uncle 

....  A  very  fine  new  steamer  of  ours  called  the  "Golden  Gate"  sails 
to-morrow  on  a  trial  excursion  to  Annapolis  there  to  be  inspected  by  the  Navy 
Department  previous  to  taking  her  place  among  the  Mail  steamships — A  large 
party  will  go  from  N.  Y.  &  many  from  Washington  will  return  in  her  among 
them  Mr  Webster  &  his  family — We  anticipate  a  pleasant  excursion  and  I 
shall  go  if  possible  especially  as  confinement  to  the  office  in  this  hot  weather 

13  Quoted  from  Kingsley,  Yale  College,  Vol.  II,  p.  240. 

[354] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— THEODORE  WINTHROP 

has  rather  enfeebled  me     I  am  looking  forward  with  much  pleasure  to  being 
in  N.  H.  on  commencement  &  meeting  my  classmates. 

....  As  for  myself  I  have  been  pretty  well  and  constantly  occupied, 
learning  much  of  the  business  in  which  am  engaged — 

I  write  this  very  hastily  in  a  moments  leisure  and  beg  you  will  excuse 
its  scrawling  style  on  the  ground  of  the  great  relief  it  is  to  be  able  to  scrawl 
awhile  after  writing  neatly  all  day — With  best  love  &  resp^^.  to  Grandma  & 
Aunt  &  the  little  ones — 

I  am  Sir 

with  much  respect 
Yours 

Theodore  Winthrop 

This  letter  to  his  uncle,  President  Woolsey,  was  written  during 
the  brief  period  when  he  was  engaged  in  business.  Winthrop  had 
met  in  Europe  William  H.  Aspinwall  and  had  acted  as  tutor  to  his 
children.  He  was  President  of  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company, 
and  was  deeply  interested  in  the  development  of  commerce  between 
the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  over  the  Isthmus.  After  serving  for  about 
a  year  at  the  headquarters  of  the  company,  Winthrop  was  trans- 
ferred to  their  Panama  office.  This  was  something  of  a  relief  from 
the  prosaic  New  York  routine,  where,  in  accordance  with  the  custom 
of  the  time  for  young  men  learning  business,  his  work  seems  to  have 
been  largely  "writing  neatly  all  day" — or  in  other  words  copying 
letters,  spending  valuable  time  in  doing  what  is  now  accomplished 
much  more  speedily  by  simple  mechanical  devices. 

The  portions  of  the  letter  omitted  in  the  transcript  have  to  do 
entirely  with  family  matters.  Of  the  classmates  to  whom  he  refers, 
three,  in  addition  to  Winthrop,  were  to  lose  their  lives  in  the  war,  two 
of  them  on  the  Southern  side. 


[355] 


III.     SUPPLEMENTARY  NAMES 

Joseph  Hawley  (Class  of  1742),  Born,  1723;  Died,  1788. 

A  score  of  Yale  patriots  might  be  named  who  are  better  known  than 
Joseph  Hawley,  but  none  that  more  deserves  remembrance.  He  was  a  promi- 
nent lawyer  who  served  for  a  generation  in  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts, 
where  he  proved  himself  a  vigorous  opponent  of  Toryism.  His  influence  may 
be  appreciated  from  a  statement  of  the  first  President  Dwight,  who  referred 
to  him  as  "one  of  the  ablest  and  most  influential  men  in  Massachusetts  Bay 
for  a  considerable  period  before  the  revolution:  an  event,  in  which  few  men 
had  more  efficiency."^  He  was  considered  as  strong  a  supporter  of  the 
American  cause  in  Western  Massachusetts  as  Samuel  Adams  was  in  the  Eastern 
section.     In  1774,  he  drew  up  a  paper  beginning  with  the  words,  "We  must 

fight,  if  we  cannot  otherwise  rid  ourselves  of  British  taxation It  is  now 

or  never  that  we  must  assert  our  liberty."^  And  when  war  actually  came  he 
was  among  the  very  first  in  the  country  to  advocate  complete  independence. 
Early  in  1776,  he  wrote  to  Elbridge  Gerry  these  prophetic  words:  "Inde- 
pendence is  the  only  way  to  union  and  harmony,  to  vigor  and  dispatch  in 

business.     Our  eyes  will  be  single  and  our  whole  body  full  of  light Let 

there  be  a  full  revolution,  or  all  has  been  done  in  vain."^ 

Hawley's  only  military  service  was  in  the  local  militia  and  as  chaplain 
on  the  expedition  to  Louisburg.  He  frequently  refused  public  office.  The 
quotations  above  are  sufficient  evidence  of  his  fearless  and  devoted  patriotism, 
and  of  his  large  vision.  As  the  biographer  of  James  Otis  says  of  him,  "He,  in 
fine,  formed  one  of  those  manly,  public-spirited  and  generous  citizens,  ready 
to  share  peril  and  decline  reward,  who  illustrate  the  idea  of  a  Commonwealth."* 

The  Memorial  Hall  autographs  are  depositions  made  in  Hampshire 
"Before  Joseph  Hawley  Just.  Peace"  in  1757  and  in  1770,  and  are  all  in  his 
handwriting. 


Edmund  Fanning  (Class  of  1757),  Born,  1737;  Died,  1818. 

After  his  graduation  from  Yale,  where  he  was  a  Berkeley  Scholar,  and 
where  his  Master's  degree  theme  was  a  vigorous  protest  against  democracy  as 

1  Dwight,  Travels,  Vol.  I,  p.  300. 

2  Johnston,  Yale  in  the  American  Revolution,  p.  43. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  43. 

*  Tudor,  Life  of  James  Otis,  pp.  253-260,  quoted  by  Johnston. 

[  356  ] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— SUPPLEMENTARY  NAMES 

a  form  of  government,  Fanning  moved  to  North  Carolina.  Here  he  became 
a  picturesque,  independent,  and  prominent  figure  in  public  life.  Later  he 
went  to  New  York  as  private  secretary  to  Governor  Tryon,  and  became 
Surveyor  General  of  the  province  and  Surrogate  of  the  city.  When  the 
Revolution  approached  he  raised  and  took  command  of  a  corps  of  loyalists 
known  as  the  "King's  American  Regiment  of  Foot."  In  this  he  served  through- 
out the  war,  being  constantly  in  action.  Yale  men  should  remember  him  with 
gratitude,  as  it  was  probably  mainly  due  to  his  intervention  that  the  college 
buildings  were  spared  when  New  Haven  was  invaded  by  the  British,  in  1779. 
Writing  ten  years  later  he  says: 

I  still  retain  a  fond  remembrance  and  tender  affection  for  that  well  regulated 
seminary  of  religion  and  learning  where  ....  I  made  such  progress  in  my 
academical  instruction  as  has  facilitated  greatly  those  instances  of  distinction  and 
success  with  which  I  have  since  been  honored  by  my  Royal  Sovereign  and  his 
people,  and  it  is  no  small  satisfaction  to  me  in  the  hour  of  public  tranquillity  to 
reflect  that  amid  the  Ravages  of  Civil  War,  and  without  injury  or  infidelity  to  the 
service  in  which  I  was  employed,  I  had  my  well-meant  share  in  averting,  in  the 
moment  of  impending  ruin,  its  utter  destruction.^ 

After  the  war  he  became  Lieutenant  Governor  cf  Nova  Scotia,  and  later 
Governor  of  Prince  Edward  Island.  He  rose  to  high  rank  in  the  British  Army, 
passing  through  the  grades  of  Major  General  and  Lieutenant  General  to  that 
of  General,  attained  in  1808.  Oxford  made  him  a  Doctor  of  Civil  Law,  while 
Yale  and  Dartmouth  conferred  upon  him  the  Doctorate  of  Laws.  His  limita- 
tions of  character  and  his  haughty  manner  made  him  the  object  of  frequent 
attack  during  his  residence  in  America,  but  his  later  distinction  and  reputation 
seem  to  warrant  his  inclusion  here.  He  may  serve  as  the  representative  of 
that  small  group  of  Yale  loyalists  who  thought  that  the  path  of  duty  lay  in 
supporting  their  King.     They  at  least  had  the  courage  of  their  convictions. 

The  autograph  is  the  attest  by  Fanning  of  a  copy  of  the  will  of  Thomas 
Sharpe  of  Albany.  It  is  dated  1773,  when  he  was  acting  as  secretary  to 
Governor  Tryon  in  New  York. 


William  Hull  (Class  of  1772),  Born,  1753;  Died,  1825. 

General  Hull  had  a  brilliant  record  as  an  officer  in  the  American  Revolu- 
tion. It  attracted  the  attention  of  Washington,  who  called  him  "an  officer  of 
great  merit,"  and  invited  him  to  become  an  aide-de-camp,  a  post  which  he 
declined  only  because  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  remain  as  Inspector  in  General 
Howe's  division.      His  most   famous  exploit   was   the  leading,  under  General 

5  Johnston,  Yale  in  the  American  Revolution,  p.  109, 

[357] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Wayne's  orders,  of  the  Massachusetts  Light  Infantry  at  the  storming  of 
Stony  Point.  After  the  Revolution  he  served  as  Lieutenant  Colonel  of  the 
provisional  "American  Regiment,"  aided  in  the  suppression  of  Shays'  Rebellion, 
and  was  United  States  Commissioner  to  treat  with  the  Indians,  and  with  the 
British  in  Canada,  whale  from  1805  to  1814  he  was  Governor  of  the  Territory 
of  Michigan.  All  of  these  offices  he  held  with  honor  to  himself  and  with  profit 
to  his  country.  In  the  War  of  1812,  although  approaching  his  seventieth 
birthday,  he  was  appointed  a  Brigadier  General  with  command  of  the  frontier 
forces  in  what  was  then  the  Northwest.  Here,  inadequately  supported  by  the 
government,  and  in  a  desperate  situation,  he  surrendered  his  troops,  so  as  to 
save  the  lives  of  many  women  and  other  non-combatants  under  his  command 
from  massacre.  For  this  he  was  tried  by  court-martial  and  condemned  to 
be  shot,  but  the  President  remitted  the  sentence  on  the  ground  of  his  age  and 
revolutionary  services.  Impartial  historians  of  today  believe  that  Hull  was 
sacrificed  as  a  scapegoat  to  save  from  disgrace  the  "face"  of  an  inefficient 
military  administration.  Professor  McMaster  says,  "He  was  a  hardly  used 
man.  Not  he,  but  Madison,  Eustis  and  Dearborn  were  to  blame."®  Whatever 
the  final  judgment  may  be  of  this  Detroit  incident,  there  is  no  doubt  in  the 
mind  of  anyone  who  has  read  the  large  volume  entitled  the  Revolutionary 
Services  and  Civil  Life  of  General  William  Hull,  as  to  the  nobility  of  his 
character  and  his  patriotism. 

General  Hull,  whose  miniature,  painted  by  Trumbull  in  1792,  is  in  the 
School  of  the  Fine  Arts,  always  retained  his  interest  in  Yale,  and  was  much 
disappointed  when  his  nephew  and  adopted  son.  Captain  Isaac  Hull,  one  of 
the  heroes  of  the  American  navy,  took  to  the  sea,  without  the  advantages  of 
an  education  at  the  College. 

The  letter  is  a  patriotic  one  written  by  Major  Hull  from  "Camp  at  Valley 
Forge"  in  May,  1778.  It  is  addressed  to  Andrew  Adams  (B.A.  1760),  who 
was  at  this  time  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress  from  Connecticut,  and 
as  such  signed  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  which  were  later  superseded  by 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  The  "Joyfull  Europian  News"  which 
put  Hull  in  such  a  happy  frame  of  mind  was  the  treaty  with  France  signed 
on  February  6  by  Benjamin  Franklin.  This  treaty,  and  the  fact  that  "the 
Enemy  are  preparing  to  leave  Philadelphia,"  made  the  writer  too  optimistic. 
The  war,  which  was  to  continue  four  years  longer,  seemed  to  him  practically 
over.  "It  must  be  a  pleasing  Reflection  to  all  who  have  borne  a  part  in  this 
arduous  Contest,  to  consider  that  they  have  been  in  some  Measure  instrumental 
in  rescuing  a  great  Continent  from  slavish  Misery,  and  establishing  its 
Happiness  on  the  broad  Basis  of  Freedom  &  Independence " 

6  McMaster,  History  of  the  United  States,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  559. 

[358] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— SUPPLEMENTARY  NAMES 

Benjamin  Tallmadge  (Class  of  1773),  Born,  1754;  Died,  1835. 

The  Class  of  1773  was  full  of  patriots — conspicuous  among  them  being 
Captains  Nathan  Hale  (q.v.)  and  James  Hillhouse,  Major  Wyllys  (q.v.),  and 
Colonel  Tallmadge.  The  last  named  served  with  distinction  throughout  the 
seven  long  years  of  the  Revolutionary  struggle.  The  Continental  Congress, 
in  1780,  passed  a  special  resolution  in  appreciation  of  the  "wisdom  and  great 
gallantry"  which  he  showed  in  "the  enterprise  against  Fort  St.  George,  on 
Long  Island."  His  most  important  work  was  in  directing  the  secret  service.' 
He  played  a  large  part  in  the  capture  of  Andre,  and  was  in  charge  of  that 
unfortunate  officer  after  his  capture.  Washington's  estimate  of  his  ability 
is  shown  by  letters  during  the  war,  and  by  the  fact  that  he  recommended  him 
for  the  command  of  the  Cavalry  Corps,  which  it  was  proposed  to  attach  to 
the  provisional  army  in  1798.^  In  later  life  he  served  with  credit  for  sixteen 
years  in  Congress. 

The  letter  is  one  of  exceptional  interest.  It  deals  with  the  period  of 
anarchy  in  the  spring  and  early  summer  of  1783,  and  refers  especially  to  the 
invasion  of  Philadelphia  by  a  body  of  eighty  soldiers  who  demanded  their  pay 
of  Congress  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  It  is  dated  Fishkill,  June  29,  1783, 
and  is  addressed  to  his  fellow  Yalensian,  Peter  Colt  (B.A.  1764),  who  held 
the  post  of  Deputy  Commissary  General  of  Purchases  for  the  Eastern  Depart- 
ment, which  included  all  the  territory  east  of  the  Hudson  River.  "The  late 
disturbances  in  Philad*.  seem  to  engross  all  Conversation  &  Companies,  &  what 
seems  remarkable  the  Comm^.  in  Chief  said  yesterday  that  he  had  heard  nothing 
from  Congress  since  Sunday  last.  It  is  beyond  a  doubt  that  some  great  Folks 
are  at  the  bottom  of  the  business —  ....  We  hear  nothing  of  the  definitive 
Treaty  yet.  The  Gen^.  has  a  late  letter  from  the  Marquis  which  mentions  the 
probability  of  its  being  soon  signed  as  the  British  Ministry  are  now  forward." 
The  preliminary  treaty  of  peace  with  England  had  already  been  signed  but 
the  final  one  was  still  to  be  postponed  two  months — until  September  3,  1783.^ 


John  Palsgrave  Wyllys  (Class  of  1773),  Born,  1754;  Died,  1790. 

Wyllys  graduated  from  Yale  with  the  Latin  Salutatory  Oration.  He 
was  one  of  three  Yale  brothers  of  a  well-known  Connecticut  famil}^  to  see 
service  in  the  Revolution.     He  was  in  many  important  engagements  of  the 

7  Johnston,  Memoir  of  Colonel  Benjamin  Tallmadge,  p.  141. 

8  Johnston,  Yale  in  the  American  Revolution,  pp.  126,  127. 

9  The  University  Library  has  a  number  of  letters  written  by  Tallmadge  to  Hon.  Tappan 
Reeve,  the  founder  of  the  Litchfield  Law  School. 

[359] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

war  from  the  siege  of  Boston  to  that  of  Yorktown,  the  regiment  which  he 
commanded  at  the  latter  place  having  the  post  of  honor  in  the  successful 
attack  on  the  night  of  October  14.  He  was  for  most  of  the  time  an  officer 
in  Colonel  Webb's  regiment,  of  which  the  major,  surgeon,  five  out  of  eight 
captains,  and  some  lieutenants  were  Yale  men."  After  the  war  Wyllys  was 
appointed  Senior  Major  in  the  First  American  Regiment,  the  nucleus  of  the 
present  army  of  the  United  States,  and  died  while  bravely  leading  his  men 
in  a  desperate  conflict  with  the  Indians,  near  the  present  site  of  Fort  Wayne, 
Indiana.  He  was  the  first  in  the  long  line  of  officers  of  the  regular  army  thus 
to  seal  his  career."  He  was  a  man  of  culture,  character,  and  exalted 
patriotism. 

The  autograph  is  the  original  inspection  return  of  the  Third  Connecticut 
Regiment  for  April  25,  1782,  signed  by  Wyllys  as  Major  Commanding. 

James  Gadsden  (Class  of  1806),  Born,  1788;  Died,  1858. 

The  "Gadsden  Treaty"  with  Mexico  and  the  "Gadsden  Purchase"  are 
familiar  terms  to  every  American  schoolboy,  but  they  generally  know  nothing 
of  the  soldier  and  diplomat  after  whom  they  are  named.  He  joined  the  United 
States  Army  soon  after  graduation,  and  served  with  distinction  as  an  officer 
of  the  Engineer  Corps  in  the  War  of  1812.  After  the  peace  he  became  General 
Jackson's  aide,  seeing  active  service  in  the  campaign  against  the  Seminoles,  and 
acting  as  Inspector  General  of  the  southern  division.  He  withdrew  from  the 
army  in  1822,  when,  for  political  reasons,  the  Senate  refused  to  confirm  his 
appointment  as  Adjutant  General.  He  then  became  a  Florida  planter. 
Colonel  Gadsden's  main  life  work  was  in  the  army,  but  his  popular  reputation 
is  based  on  his  treaty  with  the  Seminole  Indians  in  1823,  and  on  his  service 
as  Minister  to  Mexico  from  1853  to  1856.  Although  some  details  were 
adjusted  by  his  successor,  it  was  mainly  due  to  his  negotiations  that  the 
tract  of  about  twenty  million  acres,  constituting  the  southern  part  of  the 
present  states  of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  was  added  to  the  United  States. 

A  letter  written  in  1829,  to  President  Jackson,  urging  the  appointment 
of  a  friend  as  purser  in  the  navy  is  added.  "I  take  this  occasion  my  Dear 
General  to  say  to  you,  that  after  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Slocum, 
I  can  with  confidence  state  that  I  know  few  men  who  would  fill  the  office  sought 
with  more  advantage  to  the  Government,  or  more  credit  to  himself — " 

The  Library  has  an  excellent  silhouette  of  Gadsden  as  an  undergraduate. 
It  is  found  in  "Profiles  of  the  Class  that  was  admitted  into  Yale  College 
September  A.  D.  1802." 

10  Johnston,  Yale  in  the  American  Revolution,  p.  66. 

11  Ibid.,  p.  167. 

[  360  ] 


PATRIOTS  AND  SOLDIERS— SUPPLEMENTARY  NAMES 

Randall  Lee  Gibson  (Class  of  1853),  Born,  1832;  Died,  1892. 

Senator  Gibson  was  a  good  example  of  the  best  traditions  of  the  South. 
After  leaving  college,  where  he  held  a  conspicuous  place  in  undergraduate 
social  and  scholastic  life  and  was  Class  Orator  at  graduation,  he  went  abroad 
for  three  years  of  travel  and  study.  He  then  became  a  planter  in  Louisiana, 
and  on  the  opening  of  the  Civil  War  enlisted  as  a  private.  He  was  soon  elected 
Captain  of  the  First  Regiment  of  Louisiana  Artillery,  and  was  steadily  pro- 
moted through  the  grades  of  Colonel  and  Brigadier  General,  until  he  became,  in 
1864,  a  Major  General,  having  command  of  a  division  during  the  last  campaign 
of  the  war.  Never  absent  from  active  duty,  he  distinguished  himself  both  for 
bravery  and  skill  at  Shiloh,  Chickamauga,  Missionary  Ridge,  and  other 
battles — leaving  the  reputation  of  being  an  ideal  officer.  After  the  war  he 
became  a  lawyer  in  New  Orleans.  He  was  a  member  of  Congress  from  1875 
to  1883,  when  he  was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate.  Here  he  remained 
until  his  death.  He  was  a  broad-minded  statesman,  and  the  leader  in  the 
movement  for  the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  River.  He  was  the  adviser 
of  Mr.  Paul  Tulane  in  the  establishment  of  Tulane  University,  and  was  the 
first  President  of  its  Board  of  Administrators. 

The  autograph  note  is  a  brief  one  to  his  Yale  Class  Secretary  regarding 
the  whereabouts  of  a  missing  member. 


James  Clay  Rice  (Class  of  1854),  Born,  1829;  Died,  1864. 

Rice  worked  his  way  through  college.  His  principal  undergraduate 
honor  was  winning  a  Townsend  Premium.  After  teaching  school  he  took  up 
the  practice  of  law.  He  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  Union  Army,  rising 
rapidly  until  he  became  Colonel  of  the  44th  New  York  Regiment,  which  he 
led  in  many  battles,  including  Yorktown,  Manassas,  and  Chancellorsville.  At 
Gettysburg  he  commanded  a  brigade. 

It  was  his  brigade,  then  the  Third  brigade  of  the  First  division  of  the  Fifth 
corps,  which  held  the  extreme  left  of  the  line  on  Thursday,  the  second  day  of  the 
battle,  and  which  successfully  resisted  the  repeated  and  desperate  onsets  of  the 
enemy.  For  three  hours  in  that  battle  Colonel  Rice  fought  incessantly,  without 
receiving  a  single  order  from  any  superior  officer;  sending  for,  receiving  and  dis- 
posing of  reinforcements  with  such  cool  skill  and  judgment  that  at  the  close  of 
the  day's  fight  he  had  cleared  his  front  of  the  enemy  and  extended  and  advanced 
his  line  so  as  to  cover  Round-Top  Mountain,  which  rendered  it  secure  against  any 
flanking  movement.  For  this  great  service,  as  well  as  a  reward  for  former  gallant 
deeds.    General    Meade,    supported   by    the    previous    earnest    recommendations    of 

[361] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Generals  Hooker,  Porter  and  Butterfield,  had  him  appointed  Brigadier  General, 
in  which  position  he  participated  in  the  advance  upon  Mine  Run,  passed  through 
the  perils  of  the  Wilderness,  and  met  his  death  amidst  the  carnage  on  the  banks  of 
the  Po.^2 

His  last  words  were  spoken  in  the  field  hospital.  They  were,  "Turn  my  face 
to  the  enemy."  He  was  a  man  of  sterling  Christian  character  and  faith,  whose 
every  promotion  was  deserved. 

The  autograph  letter,  written  from  Albany,  in  November,  1862,  is  signed 
"James  C.  Rice  Col.  Coma'dg  44^^^  N.  Y.  V."  It  is  addressed  to  the  commander 
of  Company  A,  New  York  Battery,  and  recommends  for  promotion  Private 
Montague,  "one  of  the  most  faithful,  and  intelligent  soldiers  in  the  Regiment." 

i2iVcir  York  Evening  Post,  May  12,  1864,  quoted  in  Yale  Ohituarij  Record,  for  1864,  p.  140. 


[362] 


CHAPTER  X 

HISTORICAL  FACTORS  OF  INFLUENCE  AT  YALE 

A  study  of  the  biographies  in  these  volumes  will  show  that  in 
addition  to  the  general  atmosphere  of  the  place,  the  main  definite 
factors  of  the  University's  influence  have  been  study,  religion,  inspir- 
ing teachers,  and  association  with  men.  These  probably  continue 
today  to  be  the  elements  of  greatest  significance  in  the  undergraduate 
careers  of  most  Yalensians. 

INFLUENCE  OF  STUDY 

Study  stands  clearly  first.  The  word  is  used  rather  broadly  as 
including  scholarship  and  serious  reading — the  latter  being  often  one 
of  the  main  factors  in  a  man's  development.  For  instance,  it  was 
the  careful  reading  as  an  undergraduate  of  Coleridge's  Aids  to 
Reflection  that  was  the  turning  point  in  Horace  Bushnell's  intel- 
lectual life,  just  as  a  century  earlier  Locke's  Essai/  on  the  Human 
Understanding  produced  its  epoch-making  effect  on  Jonathan 
Edwards.  Bacon's  Advancement  of  Learning  played  a  similar, 
although  somewhat  smaller,  role  in  the  life  of  Samuel  Johnson. 

Of  the  seventy-nine  eminent  Yalensians  memorialized,  forty- 
three  might  have  secured  election  to  Phi  Beta  Kappa  had  their  ranking 
been  sufficiently  good — this  number  having  been  members  of  the 
Academical  Department  for  the  necessary  time  after  the  society's 
foundation,  in  1780.  Now  this  oldest  of  existing  college  institutions 
has  always  emphasized  intellectual  abilit3%  and  for  over  three-quarters 
of  a  century^  has  been  on  a  scholarship  basis.  In  the  early  years  the 
cultivation  of  friendship  was  a  much  more  important  factor  in  its 

1  Baldwin,  Annals  of  Yale  College,  published  in  1831,  refers  to  its  membership  being 
bestowed  "as  a  reward  of  good  scholarship  and  character,"  p.  234.  The  society  was  first 
organized  at  William  and  Mary,  in  1776. 

[  363] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

life  than  later,  but  the  motto  of  its  key — the  Greek  words  for 
Philosophy  the  Guide  of  Life,  the  emphasis  from  the  first  on  literary 
exercises,  the  custom  of  having  a  graduate,  and  generally  a  member 
of  the  Faculty,  as  President,  and  the  question  asked  in  the  original 
form  of  initiation  into  the  society,  "Will  you  approve  yourselves 
worthy  members  of  it  by  encouraging  Friendship,  Morality  and 
Science?""  all  show  that  the  intellectual  element  was  prominent  in  its 
purpose  from  early  days.  Professor  Packard  sums  up  the  matter 
by  saying  that  "during  all  or  nearly  all  of  its  existence  ....  its 
members  were  selected  largely  on  the  ground  of  excellence  in  scholar- 
ship."^ It  therefore  supplies  a  fairlj^  good  objective  test  of  the  extent 
to  which  eminent  Yale  men  have  distinguished  themselves  in  college 
as  students.  We  find  thirty-four  members  on  the  Society's  list  out  of 
our  possible  forty-three  eligibles,  seventy-nine  per  cent,*  indicating 
the  close  connection  between  scholarship  and  later  distinction. 
Almost  the  same  proportion  holds  good  for  the  names  on  the 
supplementary  lists;  so  that  over  three-fourths  of  the  deceased 
graduates  of  eminence  to  whom  the  honor  was  open  have  secured  the 
coveted  key.  The  society  has  taken  at  different  periods  slightly 
varjang  proportions  of  classes  into  its  membership,  but,  except  during 
the  first  few  years,  never  over  one-third.  For  instance:  in  1800, 
twelve  out  of  thirty-six;  in  182.5,  twenty-seven  out  of  seventy-one; 
and  in  1850,  twenty- four  out  of  eighty.  In  other  words,  although 
only  thirty-three  per  cent  of  collegiate  alumni  of  the  period  discussed 
may  be  considered  to  have  reached  a  high  standard  of  undergraduate 
scholarship,  over  twice  this  proportion — seventy-nine  per  cent — of 
the  most  eminent  men  attained  it.  The  successful  performance  of 
collegiate  duties  may  therefore  be  considered  to  have  been  a  marked 
characteristic  of  the  great  majority  of  our  most  representative  Yale 
men,  and  was  doubtless  a  prime  factor  in  their  development. 

2  MS.  Constitution  of  Phi  Beta  Kappa,  p.  20. 

3  Kingsley,  Yale  College,  Vol.  I,  p.  327. 

4  The  names  excluded  from  consideration,  as  either  non-academical  students  or  men  who 
left  college  too  early  for  election,  are  Messrs.  Cooper,  Benjamin,  Tilden,  J.  H.  Trumbull, 
S.  W.  Johnson,  Stedman,  Harris,  King,  Harper. 

[364] 


HISTORICAL  FACTORS  OF  INFLUENCE  AT  YALE 

The  influence  of  scholarsliip  on  future  careers,  during  the  past 
century  and  a  quarter  in  which  exact  records  are  available,  appears 
especially  marked  in  education,  science,  and  jurisprudence — every 
man  who  has  attained  conspicuous  eminence  in  these  fields  in  the 
period  named  having  been  distinguished  for  a  high  record  in  his 
college  studies,  while  religious  leaders  and  scholars  stand  only  slightly 
behind,  each  having  onlj^  one  eligible  name  not  on  the  rolls  of  Phi 
Beta  Kappa.  Literature  shows  up  poorly.  The  artistic,  poetic 
temperament  is  generally  more  interested  in  broad  but  desultory 
reading  than  in  the  requirements  of  the  old  fixed  curriculum.  Follow- 
ing the  example  of  Shelle}^  and  of  other  great  names  in  the  literary 
annals  of  England,  most  of  Yale's  men  of  letters  have  not  been 
accurate  scholars  as  undergraduates. 

Unfortunately,  the  early  scholastic  records  of  the  College  are 
incomplete,  but  from  what  we  know  of  the  careers  of  individuals 
there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  conditions  found  to  exist 
since  the  establishment  of  Phi  Beta  Kappa,  in  1780,  held  good  prior 
to  that  date.  Jonathan  Edwards  (1720),^  Livingston  (1741), 
Brainerd  (1743),  Stiles  (1746),  Dwight  (1769),  and  Hale  (1773) 
all  seem  to  have  been  Valedictorians  or  Salutatorians  of  their 
respective  classes  in  this  earlier  period,  or  were  given  the  Cliosophic 
Oration,  then  the  most  honorable  of  Commencement  "parts,"  except 
Brainerd,  who  ranked  as  first  scholar  at  the  time  of  his  dismissal. 
Chancellor  Kent  (1781),  Fisher  (1813),  Woolsey  (1820),  F. 
Barnard  (1828),  Bristed  (1839),  and  James  Hadley  (1842) 
continued  this  tradition  later,  while  among  the  living.  Presidents 
Dwight  (1849),  Hadley  (1876),  and  Taft  (1878)— all  first  or  second 
scholars  of  their  class — show  that  the  old  connection  between  high 
collegiate  rank  and  later  success  is  being  maintained. 

The  gaps  in  the  early  records  can  be  partially  filled  by  the  list 
of  recipients  of  Berkeley  Scholarships.     These  have  been  awarded 

5  In  this  and  the  following  chapter,  dates  in  parentheses  represent  the  college  class  unless 
otherwise  indicated. 

[865] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

since  1733  to  the  best  classical  scholar  in  every  Senior  class.  Wheelock 
(1733),  Lyman  (1738),  W.  S.  Johnson  (1744),  Deane  (1758), 
Trumbull  (1767),  and  Baldwin  (1772)  were  elected  to  this  honorable 
foundation,  in  addition  to  D wight  (1769)  already  mentioned  above. 
As  Johnson  (1714)  and  Humphreys  (1771)  were  also  chosen  to  the 
tutorship^  because  of  their  excellent  record  as  students,  we  have 
fourteen  out  of  twentj'-seven  specially  memoriahzed  Yalensians, 
prior  to  Phi  Beta  Kappa's  establishment,  who  were  distinguished  as 
scholars.  These  facts  show,  it  is  believed  conclusively,  that  in  Yale's 
history  there  has  been  an  intimate  relationship  between  intellectual 
activity  in  college  and  eminence  in  after  life. 

INFLUENCE  OF  RELIGION 

The  field  of  religion  is  one  in  which  statistics  are  apt  to  be  mis- 
leading, but  where  individual  conviction  and  experience  are  of  prime 
importance.  As  shown  elsewhere  in  discussing  the  atmosphere  of 
Yale,  religious  faith  has  alwaj^s  been  a  marked  characteristic  of  the 
Universit3\  Here  we  are  to  consider  it  briefly  as  a  concrete  and 
helpful  factor  in  the  lives  of  representative  undergraduates,  rather 
than  as  a  part  of  a  general  influence.  In  this  connection  some  of  the 
biographies  are  of  special  significance.  It  was  as  a  Yale  student  that 
Jonathan  Edwards  (1720)  became  conscious  of  "an  inward  sweet 
delight  in  God,"^  and  that  Samuel  Hopkins  (1741),  influenced  by 
the  preaching  of  Edwards,  Whitefield,  and  Tennent,  resolved  to  be  a 
student  of  theology,  having  experienced  "a  sense  of  the  being  and 
presence  of  God"  as  never  before.  Young  David  Brainerd's  (1743) 
wonderful  consecration  of  himself  to  the  cause  of  missions,  under 
Whitefield's  preaching,  and  Peter  Parker's    (1831)    epoch-making 

6  About  one-third  of  "Eminent  Yale  Men"  have  served  at  some  time  as  college  tutors. 

"  He  also  passed  through  great  spiritual  struggles.  "Indeed  I  was  at  times  very  uneasy, 
especially  towards  the  latter  part  of  my  time  at  college;  when  it  pleased  God,  to  seize  me  with 
the  pleurisy;  in  which  he  brought  me  nigh  to  the  grave,  and  shook  me  over  the  pit  of  hell. 
....  My  concern  now  wrought  more  by  inward  struggles  and  conflicts,  and  self-reflections. 
I  made  seeking  my  salvation  the  main  business  of  my  life."  Edwards,  A  Narrative  of  Many 
Surprising  Conversions  (1832  Edition),  p.  366. 

[366] 


HISTORICAL  FACTORS  OF  INFLUENCE  AT  YALE 

resolve  to  begin  in  China  the  work  of  medical  missions  were  similarly 
made  when  pursuing  their  studies  in  New  Haven.  The  former  is 
the  classic  American  illustration  of  the  religious  activity  of  an  under- 
graduate devoted  to  what  is  known  as  "personal  work."  He  not 
only  greatly  helped  Samuel  Hopkins  and  others  among  his  Yale 
contemporaries,  but  his  example  has  ever  since  been  an  inspiring 
memory  in  college  life.  Similarly,  Benjamin  Silliman's  (1796) 
joining  the  College  Church  when  a  popular  young  tutor,  in  the 
revival  of  1802,  made  a  profound  impression,  and  may  be  taken  as 
typical  of  the  influence  of  "the  Church  of  Christ  in  Yale  College," 
with  which  many  eminent  Yalensians  have  united  in  their  student 
days.  The  history  of  these  and  other  religious  forces  at  the  University 
has  been  well  traced  in  a  volume  published  at  the  Bicentennial, 
entitled  Two  Centuries  of  Christiaii  Activity  at  Yale.  Sufiice  it  to 
add  here  that  religion  was  never  a  stronger  or  more  helpful  factor  on 
the  Campus  than  at  present,  and  that  it  is  now  characterized  by  the 
same  earnestness  that  we  have  seen  in  such  biographies  as  those  of 
Brainerd  or  Peter  Parker,  but  without  the  excesses  of  the  earlier 
period. 

INFLUENCE  OF  INSPIRING  TEACHERS 

President  Garfield's  definition  of  the  vital  factor  of  his  educa- 
tion— sitting  at  one  end  of  a  log  with  President  Mark  Hopkins  at 
the  other — has  much  significance.  It  was  the  glory  of  the  old  New 
England  College  that  the  student  came  into  close  contact  with  a  few 
inspiring  men — men  who  influenced  youth  both  by  their  teachings 
and  by  their  ideals.  This  influence  of  the  great  teacher  may  be  seen 
on  its  subjective  and  objective  sides  in  Yale  histor5\  The  apostolic 
succession  is  clearly  marked  during  a  century  and  a  half.  Its  roots 
are  found  earlier  in  the  work  of  Tutor  William  Smith  (1719),  Rector 
Williams,  and  President  Clap ;  but  the  line  of  the  most  eminent  Yale 
teachers,  the  men  who  combined  transmitting  knowledge  with  a 
real   enthusiasm   for   scholarship    and   service,    began   with    Tutor, 

[367  1 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

later  President,  Dwight  (1769),  and  was  continued  by  James 
Gould  (1791),  Benjamin  Silliman  (1796),  Moses  Stuart  (1799), 
Nathaniel  Taylor  (1807),  Sumner  (1863),  and  Harper  (Ph.D. 
1875).  These  seven  men  are  among  the  most  broadly  influential 
teachers  the  country  has  known,  while  Woolsey  ( 1820) ,  Dana  ( 1833) , 
and  Hadley  (1842)  were  conspicuous  for  the  impression  they  made 
on  students  of  real  promise. 

It  is  hard  to  overestimate  the  stimulating  effect  which  the  first 
President  Dwight  had  on  the  minds  and  wills  of  most  of  the  eleven 
hundred  graduates  who  took  their  degrees  under  him.  This  comes 
out  in  almost  every  representative  Yale  biography  of  the  period, 
especialty  in  the  lives  of  such  widely  different  men  as  the  preacher 
Beecher  (1797),  the  scientist  Silliman  (1796),  the  theologian  Taylor 
(1807),  the  inventor  Morse  (1810),  the  scholar  Stuart  (1799),  and 
the  statesman  Calhoun  (1804).  The  power  of  Silliman's  teaching 
was  almost  equally  marked,  and  lasted  for  half  a  century.  It  showed 
itself  both  by  admiration  for  the  man's  character  and  ability,  and  by 
enthusiastic  consecration  to  the  cause  of  science.  The  careers  of  men 
hke  Hitchcock  (1825-1826)  and  Dana  (1833)  were  largely  molded 
by  it.  In  a  different  field,  as  a  stimulating  instructor  in  theology, 
Taylor  (1807)  has  been  unexcelled  in  America,  as  were  Stuart 
(1799)  and  Harper  (1875)  in  creating  a  scholarly  interest  in 
Biblical  studies.  Their  biographies  show  the  extraordinary  range  of 
their  influence  as  teachers.  Sumner  (1863),  although  he  made  few 
disciples  of  his  specific  economic  and  political  theories,  had  a 
remarkable  influence  as  an  aAvakening  intellectual  and  moral  force  on 
generations  of  Yale  undergraduates. 

When  we  turn  from  the  subjective  to  the  objective  side,  the 
record  is  similar.  Dwight's  (1769)  whole  career  was  changed  b}^  the 
earnest  words  of  one  of  his  teachers.  Morse's  (1810)  work  as  an 
inventor  was  largely  determined  by  the  instruction  of  three  of  his 
Yale  professors.     ^lany  of  America's  leading  philologists  got  their 

[368] 


HISTORICAL  FACTORS  OF  INFLUENCE  AT  YALE 

life  inspiration  in  the  third  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  under 
the  instruction  of  that  remarkable  trio  of  profound  scholars — 
Professors  Whitney,  Woolsej^  and  Hadley.  These  are  onh^  tj^pical 
cases  that  stand  for  the  influence  of  inspiring  teaching  on  the  lives 
of  eminent  Yalensians. 

INFLUENCE  OF  ASSOCIATION  WITH  MEN 

The  hearty,  democratic  life  of  the  Campus  has  always  been  a 
potent  educational  factor  at  New  Haven.  It  has  been,  indeed,  so 
attractive,  and  its  advantages  in  broadening  a  man's  horizon,  and  in 
giving  him  ease  in  his  dealings  with  men  of  different  types  and  kinds, 
have  been  so  obvious  that  there  has  been  danger  lest  it  appear  to 
undergraduates  to  be  the  main  end  of  the  academic  course.  The 
authorities,  supported  by  the  best  undergraduate  sentiment,  have 
always  recognized  intellectual  and  moral  discipline  and  the  acquire- 
ment of  knowledge  as  both  the  means  and  end  of  education,  but  they 
have  granted  to  what  is  called  "college  life"  an  important  sub- 
ordinate place.  Thej^  have  rightly  claimed  that  a  Yale  degree^  meant 
something  more  than  passing  a  given  test,  and  so,  in  contrast  with 
many  representative  universities,  have  uniformly  refused  diplomas 
for  non-resident  or  occasional  summer  work.  They  have  considered 
that  the  Bachelor  of  Arts  degree  in  particular  stood  not  only  for 
doing  satisfactorily  certain  prescribed  intellectual  tasks,  but  for  doing 
them  in  the  vivifying  and  liberalizing  atmosphere  of  a  regular  student 
community,  with  its  wealth  of  associations,  traditions,  and  friendships. 
All  eminent  Yalensians  have  at  least  recognized  the  value  of  this 
human  training,  while  many  of  them  have  identified  themselves  in  a 
marked  way  with  the  broad  life  of  the  student  community,  and  have 
gained  noticeably  from  its  friendships.  Such  were  Xathan  Hale 
(1773),  who  entered  heartil}'-  into  every  form  of  college  activity — 
scholastic,  literary,  social,  athletic;  Nathaniel  P.  Willis  (1827),  whose 

8  The  M.A.  degree  is  only  an   apparent  exception,  as   it  has   never  been   given   for  non- 
resident work  except  to  previous  graduates  of  the  College,  and  now  requires  resident  study. 

[  369  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

biographer  says  that  college  life  left  a  deeper  impression  upon  him 
than  upon  any  other  American  man  of  letters;  William  M.  Evarts 
(1837),  one  of  the  founders  of  the  "Lit.,"  a  high  scholar,  and  active 
in  undergraduate  social  organizations;  Josiah  Dwight  Whitney 
(1839),  whose  sketch  shows  his  interest  in  all  phases  of  Campus  life, 
and  Gilman  (1852)  and  Sumner  (1863),  typical  Yale  undergraduate 
leaders  of  the  last  generation. 

Some  distinguished  alumni  were  inconspicuous  as  under- 
graduates for  anything  but  scholarship.  This  was  true,  for  instance, 
of  Gibbs  (1858).  He  represents  an  exception.  Most  have  entered 
in  a  whole-souled  way  into  the  life  and  activities  of  the  "Fence,"  the 
dormitories,  the  debating  societies,  and  various  literary,  athletic, 
and  social  clubs,  while  all  have  recognized  that  association  with  men 
could  be  developed  at  its  best  "  'neath  the  Elms"  of  Yale. 

Many  other  influences  may  be  traced.  With  Winthrop  (1848) 
it  was  devotion  to  a  noble  girl,  whom  he  did  not  know,  that  was  the 
main  factor  in  enabling  him  to  make  the  most  out  of  his  Yale  years. 
With  Bacon  (1820)  it  was  one  serious  talk  with  a  classmate  about 
Commencement  time  that  turned  the  tide.  With  Frederick  Barnard 
(1828)  and  others,  the  debating  society  seems  to  have  been  as  great 
a  help  in  development  as  anything  else,  while  with  Woolsey  (1820), 
a  small  literary  club  was,  next  to  study,  the  thing  which  helped  him 
most.  And  so  the  influences  vary  from  man  to  man,  and  from  age 
to  age;  but  those  which  have  proven  most  consistently  helpful  in  the 
lives  of  eminent  Yalensians  are  clearly  the  ones  outlined  above: 
study,  religion,  inspiring  teachers,  and  association  with  men.  If 
another  were  to  be  added  it  would  be  debating.  Linonia  and 
Brothers,  the  large  literary  societies,  were  open  to  all,  and,  for  about 
a  century,  helped  to  sharpen  wits,  to  develop  convictions  on  important 
problems,  and  to  fit  men  for  participation  in  public  life.  They  did 
for  America  what  the  Oxford  Union  has  done  for  England,  and  they 
have  left  no  adequate  substitute. 

[370] 


CHAPTER  XI 

COMMON  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  MOST  EMINENT 

YALE  MEN 

Let  it  be  said  at  the  outset  that  it  is  impossible  to  find  any  group 
of  characteristics  common  to  all  Yale  men  of  distinction.  Yet  every 
historical  university  has  a  personality,  and  leaves  its  impress  upon  its 
students.  This  is  specially  marked  in  the  undergraduate  course 
where  students  are  in  residence  together  for  several  successive  years, 
enjoying  a  common  life,  and  handing  down  the  college  traditions 
from  one  generation  to  another.  It  is  true  of  families  living  in  an 
ancestral  home,  of  clearly  differentiated  communities,  as  well  as  of 
religious  and  social  organizations,  so  it  is  natural  that  it  should  hold 
good  of  a  university  which  shares  many  of  the  characteristics  of  such 
institutions,  in  addition  to  being  primarily  a  place  of  intellectual 
training.  Its  atmosphere  is  one  of  its  most  important  educational 
assets,  but  this  is  nothing  else  than  the  associations  and  ideals  handed 
down  by  officers  and  students  living  in  the  same  place,  with  kindred 
purposes,  through  the  course  of  the  years.  These  bring  up  the  past, 
influencing  youth  unconsciously  by  the  ideals  of  those  who  have  gone 
before.  Many  a  man  in  a  cathedral  of  the  Old  World  has  been 
enveloped  by  a  feeling  that  the  place  has  been  consecrated  by  the 
prayers  of  thousands  of  men  and  women  during  several  centuries. 
This  is  a  help  to  worship,  just  as  the  living  in  a  community  where 
strong  men  have  wrought  unconsciously  stimulates  young  men  to 
imitate  their  example.  Ivy-grown  walls,  ancient  customs,  and  long- 
existing  organizations,  all  have  their  effect  in  transmitting  what 
earlier  generations  have  achieved. 

[371] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

This  is  one  of  the  most  precious  gifts  of  an  ancient  university. 
Anyone  who  has  lived  as  a  student  at  Oxford  knows  the  reality  of 
the  power,  the  spell  of  the  place,  with  its  traditions  of  classical  culture, 
idealism,  and  conservatism.  So  it  is  at  Harvard,  where  the  atmos- 
phere has  been  for  generations  one  of  independence,  individualism, 
criticism,  liberalism,  and  culture,  forming  well-defined  traditions  and 
ideals.  These  differ  considerably  from  those  at  Yale,  but  only 
prejudice  could  deny  that  their  contributions  to  American  education 
are  of  vital  importance.  Both  the  spirit  of  Harvard  and  the  spirit 
of  Yale  have  their  advantages  and  limitations.  Each  of  them  makes 
some  impress  on  every  student's  point  of  view,  occasionally  by 
reaction,  but  generalh^  by  direct  influence. 

What  then  is  the  Yale  ideal  which  has  been  generally  repro- 
duced by  our  most  representative  graduates?  The  main  definite 
factors  of  undergraduate  influence — scholarship,  religion,  inspiring 
teachers,  and  association  with  men — have  been  dealt  with  elsewhere. 
Here  we  are  concerned  with  the  atmosphere  of  the  place  which  has 
had  its  effect  on  the  general  attitude  of  mind  of  eminent  graduates. 
The  Yale  ideal,  historically  considered,  has  four  main  elements  which 
deserve  separate  consideration.  It  is  a  combination  of  them,  corre- 
sponding in  a  rough,  unscientific  way  to  certain  attributes  of 
personality,  or  perhaps  better,  to  four  activities  of  the  individual. 
Socially  it  expresses  itself  in  democracy,  spiritually  in  faith, 
intellectually  in  conservatism,  and  morally  in  constructive  activity. 

DEMOCRACY 

Probabl}^  in  the  public  mind  democracy  is  the  most  striking  trait 
of  the  University  and  of  its  men.  It  manifests  itself  in  many  forms. 
The  poor  man  who  works  his  way  through  college  is  nowhere  more 
respected.  "A  fair  field  and  no  favor"  for  the  so-called  "honors"  of 
undergraduate  life  are  generally  assured.  The  student  body  main- 
tains democracy  through  its  University  mass  meetings — an  almost 
complete  survival  of  the  old-time  Xew  England  town  meetings,  its 

[  372  ] 


.J 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  MOST  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Senior  Councils,  the  influence  of  college  journalism — especially  as 
shown  by  the  Yale  News,  and  the  popular  election  of  various  officers, 
including  even  religious  leaders — the  Class  Deacons,  and  literary 
leaders — the  editors  of  the  Yale  Litei^ary  Magazine.  Even  the  Senior 
societies  seem  to  leave  most  of  the  selections  of  members  to  the  student 
community,  only  sparingly  using  their  veto  against  those  whom  their 
mates  have  elected  to  what  are  believed  to  be  the  most  responsible 
college  positions. 

In  the  matter  of  University  organization,  the  same  tendency 
towards  democracy  is  exhibited.  Yale  was  the  first  of  the  important 
privately  endowed  American  universities  to  allow  the  graduates  the 
right  of  suffrage  for  the  election  of  members  of  the  highest  governing 
body,  and  it  is  one  of  the  few  institutions  of  the  first  rank  in  the 
United  States  to  retain  a  democratic  organization  of  all  the  faculties, 
with  the  privilege,  subject  only  to  the  approval  of  the  President  and 
Fellows,  to  select  their  own  associates,  as  well  as  Deans.  The 
influence  of  this  Yale  custom  in  making  for  the  esprit  de  corps,  peace, 
and  self-respect  of  the  teaching  force  is  enormous. 

These  student  and  Faculty''  traditions  go  back  to  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  have  had  a  powerful  influence.  Their  roots  are  in 
Connecticut's  early  political,  social,  and  religious  history.  The  late 
Professor  Johnston,  of  Princeton,  claimed  that  Hooker's  sermon  in 
Hartford,  May  31,  1638,  was  potentially  "the  most  important 
profession  of  political  faith  in  our  histoiy."  Its  foremost  doctrine 
is  "That  the  choice  of  public  magistrates  belongs  unto  the 
people  ....  because,  by  a  free  choice,  the  hearts  of  the  people  will 
be  more  inclined  to  the  love  of  the  persons  chosen  and  more  ready  to 
yield  obedience."^  This  doctrine,  developed  the  following  year  into 
the  "Fundamental  Orders  of  Connecticut,"  and  largely  through  them 
into  the  political  life  of  America,  had  a  profound  effect  upon  the 
Colony  where  it  was  fostered,  and  consequently  upon  the  spirit  of  its 
University.    An  equally  important  and  more  underljang  democratic 

1  Johnston,  Connecticut,  in  American  Commonwealth  Series,  pp.  71-73. 

[373] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

influence  was  exerted  by  the  Congregational  polity,  which  stood  for 
the  principle  of  self-government  in  ecclesiastical  affairs.  The  Congre- 
gationalists  had  the  only  ministers  in  Connecticut  when  Yale  was 
founded.  They  were  the  dominant  forces  in  the  development  of  the 
College  during  its  first  centur5%  while  in  the  second  century  their 
leadership  in  home  missionary  work  in  the  settlement  of  the  West 
laid  the  foundations  for  Yale's  strong  western  constituency,  which  has 
done  much  to  bring  new  vigor  and  respect  for  a  man's  individual 
worth  into  the  undergraduate  life  of  recent  times.  No  eastern 
university  has  gained  so  much  from  the  reflex  influence  of  the 
democratic  West  as  Yale,  at  least  in  so  far  as  student  spirit  is 
concerned.  The  conditions  of  rural  New  England  life  also  favored 
democracy.  There  were  leading  families  who  had  great  prestige, 
but  there  was  no  landed  aristocracy  as  in  Virginia  or  New  York,  and 
no  large  dominant  social  center  as  in  JNIassachusetts.  The  Connecticut 
farm,  the  typical  home  of  the  early  graduate,  fostered  simple 
standards  of  life  and  thought,"  and  sent  hundreds  of  its  sturdy  boys 
to  the  College.  It  is  significant  that  Yale  gave  up  the  social  grading 
of  graduates  in  its  published  lists  in  1767,  six  years  before  her  rival 
in  Cambridge,  and  that  she  has  always  been  considered  a  place  where 
the  poor  man  of  inconspicuous  family  has  unusual  opportunities  for 
the  highest  social  recognition. 

These  considerations  may  not  adequately  explain  past  and 
present  conditions,  but  they  make  it  clear  that  democracy  has  played 
a  prominent  part  as  one  side  of  the  college  ideal,  and  that  it  has 
powerfully  molded  graduate  sentiment.  It  has  been  a  factor  in  the 
services  rendered  by  the  University  in  the  two  great  American 
crises — the  Revolution  and  the  Civil  War,  and  it  has  been  charac- 
teristic of  almost  all  eminent  Yalensians.    Of  the  seventy-nine  names 

2  The  following  incident  quoted  by  Professor  Farrand  emphasizes  these  same  conditions: 
"A  few  months  later  the  French  charge  d'affaires  in  a  report  to  his  government  spoke  of 
Ellsworth  and  Sherman  as  typical  of  Connecticut,  and  went  on  to  say:  'The  people  of  this 
state  generally  have  a  national  character  not  commonly  found  in  other  parts  of  the  country. 
They  come  nearer  to  republican  simplicity:  without  being  rich  they  are  all  in  easy  circum- 
stances.' "    Farrand,  Framing  of  the  Constitution,  p.  35. 

[374] 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  MOST  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

chosen  for  biographies  by  as  objective  tests  as  possible,  most  have 
been  genuine  and  whole-souled  exponents  of  democracy.  Not  one 
has  been  a  snob,  and  only  two^  showed  a  lack  of  sympathy  with 
repubhcan  institutions.  What  is  of  more  significance,  their  greatest 
work  has  been  in  the  struggle  for  independence,  in  the  spread  of 
education  and  religion,  and  in  public  life — all  of  vital  importance  to 
a  stable  republican  government.  They  have  generally  been  men  who 
showed  their  convictions  regarding  democracy  by  their  manner  of 
life  and  their  attitude  towards  others.  Horace  Bushnell  (1827), 
Henry  Barnard  (1830),  Noah  Webster  (1778),  and  Manasseh 
Cutler  (1765)  are  characteristic  in  this  respect  of  the  alumni.  It  is 
likewise  noticeable  that  many  of  our  eminent  scientists  have  given 
much  of  their  time  to  the  common  good  through  government  work. 
Yale's  charter,  with  its  emphasis  on  training  for  public  service,  has 
thus  had  its  fulfilment  in  an  even  broader  way  than  the  founders 
planned. 

FAITH 

A  second  characteristic  of  eminent  Yalensians  has  been  and  is 
their  faith.  This  expresses  itself  in  many  ways.  The  typical  graduate 
has  the  believing  attitude  of  mind.  He  has  faith  in  God,  in  his 
country,  in  his  University,  in  his  fellow  men.  A  Yale  atheist,  or  a 
Yale  cynic,  or  a  Yale  pessimist,  is  rarel}^  found.  Faith  is  of  the 
essence  of  the  spirit  of  the  place.  Its  earliest  and  most  characteristic 
manifestation  is  in  the  sphere  of  religion.  The  first  words  of  the 
original  charter,  obtained  in  1701,  put  this  in  the  foreground,  where 
it  has  ever  remained:  "Whereas  several  well  disposed,  and  Publick 
spirited  Persons  of  their  Sincere  Regard  to  &  Zeal  for  upholding  & 
Propogating  of  the  Christian  Religion  .  .  .  ."  etc.  The  successors 
of  these  "Publick  spirited  Persons" — the  life  members  of  the  Yale 
Corporation — have  always  included  a  majority  of  ministers  of  the 
Gospel,  Corporation  meetings  have  always  been  opened  with  prayer, 

3  Samuel  Seabury  and  William  Smith  were  both  loyalists. 

[375] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

the  corporate  Communion  service  has  been  held  regularly  at  the 
College,  which  has  the  most  influential  and  next  to  oldest  undenomi- 
national University  department  of  Divinity  in  America.  The 
Student  Christian  Association  is  acknowledged  to  be  one  of  the 
strongest  in  the  world,  while  the  Yale  brotherhood  has  been  the  first 
among  American  universities  to  found  and  support  a  Christian 
college  in  the  mission  field.  These  are  merely  representative  facts. 
They  are  thoroughly  reflected  in  the  spiritual  attitude  of  our 
graduates.  One-third  of  the  biographies  given  in  these  volumes  are 
of  men  who  were  ordained  ministers,  or  regularly  licensed  to  preach. 
The  overwhelming  majority  is  made  up  of  earnest  Christians  regu- 
larly identified  with  some  branch  of  the  Church.  There  is  not  a 
professed  atheist  among  them,  and  although  many  were  not  orthodox 
according  to  narrow  dogmatic  standards,  those  with  pronounced 
agnostic  tendencies  may  be  counted  on  the  fingers  of  one  hand.  This 
is  worthy  of  remark  in  view  of  the  unusually  large  number  of  nine- 
teenth century  scientists  included.  Among  the  greatest  in  every 
field  were  men  like  Jonathan  Edwards  (1720),  President  Woolsey 
(1820),  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse  (1810),  Benjamin  Silliman  (1796), 
and  Chief  Justice  Waite  (1837),  who  were  well  known  for  their 
religious  earnestness. 

The  faith  characteristic  of  Yale  as  indicated  above  is  broader 
than  the  scope  of  religion,  and  affects  a  man's  whole  outlook  on  life. 
It  is  just  as  essential  in  making  a  man  a  good  patriot,  or  an  educa- 
tional leader  in  a  democracj^  as  it  is  in  developing  a  prophetic 
preacher.  It  involves  the  implication  that  there  are  better  days  ahead 
for  humanity,  and  that  they  are  worth  working  for.  The  roots  of 
this  faith  which  makes  a  man  cheer  heartily  and  work  enthusiastically 
"For  God,  for  Country  and  for  Yale,"  find  their  religious  beginnings 
in  old  New  England,  but  these  were  broadened  and  chastened  by  the 
humanitarianism  which  followed  the  Revolution,  as  indicated  in  the 
biographies  of  Dwight  (1769),  the  elder  Morse  (1783),  and  the  elder 
Evarts    (1802).     They  have  been  growing  as  the  University  has 

[376] 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  MOST  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

become  more  and  more  a  national  institution.  It  is  hard  for  a  man 
today  in  the  college  atmosphere,  with  its  inherited  traditions  of 
religion  and  of  democracy,  reenforced  by  the  never  ending  stream  of 
manly  lads  from  Christian  homes  "working  their  way  through,"  not 
to  have  faith  in  God  and  man. 

CONSERVATISM 

It  is  undoubtedly  true,  whether  a  trait  to  be  admired  or  not,  that 
the  intellectual  note  of  Yale  is  conservatism  rather  than  radicalism. 
There  is  not  and  never  has  been  anything  hidebound  or  reactionary 
in  the  University's  attitude,  but  its  educational  policy  has  been  marked 
by  caution,  by  an  unwillingness  to  make  extreme  and  untried 
experiments  in  methods  of  instruction.  Yale  has  had  enough  vision 
to  see  the  opportunity  in  new  departments  where  she  has  been  a 
pioneer,  such  as  in  the  Schools  of  Fine  Arts,  Science,  and  Forestry, 
and  in  postgraduate  courses,  but  her  methods  have  generally  been 
conservative.  Harvard  did  invaluable  work  ^vith  her  experiments 
in  such  matters  as  the  elective  system  and  the  case  method  of  legal 
instruction.  Yale  profited  by  these,  adopting  gradually  what  she 
believed  to  be  good  in  them,  but  never  going  in  for  sudden  and 
excessive  changes  from  the  most  approved  methods  of  the  past. 
When,  a  generation  ago,  the  ideal  of  the  University  was  gradually 
evolved  in  America,  some  institutions  developed  their  professional, 
graduate,  or  scientific  departments  so  eagerly  and  rapidly  that  the 
old-time  four  years'  academic  course  suffered.  In  a  word,  the  Univer- 
sity was  developed  at  the  expense  of  the  College.  At  Yale  the 
advance  was,  in  some  respects,  slower,  but  the  College,  with  its  old- 
time  curriculum  of  general  culture  studies,  modified  to  meet  contem- 
porary needs,  was  never  sacrificed.  It  remained  the  main  nucleus 
of  the  larger  institution.  In  all  of  these  typical  cases  the  University 
has  shown  its  conservative  tendency.  It  has  always  been  for  progress, 
but  progress  perhaps  slowly,  }^et  always  surely,  evolved  without 
unnecessary  wrenches  with  the  past. 

[  377  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

This  attitude  is  reflected  in  undergraduate  life  today,  and  in  the 
point  of  view  of  graduates.  The  Yale  student  body  clings  to  an  old 
custom  with  tenacity.  It  is  always  eager  for  "reforms,"  as  the 
columns  of  the  News  every  winter  term  show,  but  these  are  seldom 
iconoclastic.  They  are  to  be  worked  out  gradually  on  the  basis  of 
existing  institutions,  and  with  the  help  of  past  experience. 

Tliis  intellectual  conservatism  is  characteristic  of  our  most 
eminent  alumni.  They  have  had  epoch-making  ideas  or  theories,  like 
those  of  Manasseh  Cutler  (1765),  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse  (1810),  and 
Willard  Gibbs  (1858),  but  they  have  been  almost  invariably  well- 
balanced,  judicious  men  favoring  progress  by  evolution,  rather  than 
radicals  striving  to  make  the  world  over  in  a  day.  Even  at  the  time 
of  the  American  Revolution  it  was  mainly  for  the  inherited  right  of 
self-government  that  our  Y'^ale  ancestors  fought,  and  then  only  when 
liberty  seemed  impossible  of  attainment  by  peaceful  means.  The 
typical  patriots  and  statesmen  of  the  period — men  like  Nathan  Hale 
(1773),  David  Humphreys  (1771),  William  Livingston  (1741), 
Oliver  Wolcott  (1747),  and  the  others — were  widely  removed  from 
the  inflammatory  radicalism  of  the  French  Revolution.  They  were 
in  earnest  for  freedom,  and  strenuously  opposed  taxation  without 
representation,  but  they  generally  reached  their  decisions  as  calmly 
as  Hale  met  his  fate. 

The  University's  conservatism  among  its  graduates  has  shown 
itself  particularly  in  maintaining  the  connection  between  religion  and 
education — the  colleges  scattered  through  the  West  owing  more  to 
Y^ale  directly  or  indirectl}^  in  this  respect  than  to  any  other  factor. 
It  has  also  been  shown  in  the  evolution  of  a  liberal  theology. 
Connecticut  never  sympathized  with  the  revolutionary  break  to 
Unitarianism  marked  among  the  Congregational  churches  in  Massa- 
chusetts in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century.  INIanj^  of  its 
pastors  and  churches  have  come  today  to  a  point  of  view  similar  to 
that  held  by  Channing,  but  it  has  been  through  a  gradual  develop- 
ment, without  losing  the  vitality  of  the  old  faith.    For  this,  wise  Y^ale 

[378] 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  MOST  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

leaders,  passing  on  step  by  step  from  the  theologj^  of  Edwards  (1720) 
to  that  of  Dwight  (1769),  and  then  on  to  Taylor  (1807),  Bushnell 
(1827),  and  Hunger  (1851),  are  mainly  responsible.  These  are 
typical  illustrations  of  the  fact  that  the  graduates  in  their  several 
callings  have  manifested  a  liberal-conservative,  rather  than  a  radical, 
attitude  of  mind. 

CONSTRUCTIVE  ACTIVITY 

Critics  are  important  in  every  nation  and  for  every  age,  but 
Yale  has  not  been  conspicuous  for  their  production.  The  armchair 
could  never  be  her  symbol.  Our  graduates  have  been  mainly  men 
of  action.  Even  the  thinkers  among  them,  like  Jonathan  Edwards 
(1720),  Chancellor  Kent  (1781),  Horace  Bushnell  (1827),  Theodore 
Woolsey  (1820),  all  turned  their  thought  into  vigorous  activity. 
Thought  for  the  mere  sake  of  thought  is  an  intellectual  refinement 
little  practiced  among  Yalensians.  Similarly,  our  most  representative 
scientists  have  been  prominent  for  their  public  services.  They  have 
been  leading  spirits  in  founding  the  United  States  Geological  Survey, 
and  the  Weather  Bureau,  and  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Stations. 
Or,  like  Silliman  (1796),  they  have  carried  on  a  country- wide  cam- 
paign for  scientific  education.  Even  the  nearest  to  a  recluse  among 
them — Willard  Gibbs  (1858) — by  his  arduous  work  discovered  laws 
upon  which  active  modern  industries,  such  as  the  steel  business,  have 
been  built. 

In  religion,  Yale's  note  has  been  a  positive  and  constructive  one. 
Her  graduates  have  appeared  at  their  best  here.  The  building  up  of 
the  New  England  theology,  which  gave  the  spiritual  background  to 
about  one-third  of  the  nation  for  about  two-thirds  of  a  century,  was 
almost  entirely  their  work.  They  were  the  leading  historical  factors 
in  the  early  development  of  missionary  activity  in  America,  and 
they  were  conspicuous  in  transplanting  the  Episcopal  Church  and 
reconstructing  it  on  an  independent  basis. 

In  education,  Y^ale,  through  her  graduates,  has  had  to  do  with 

[379] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

laying  the  foundations  of  most  of  America's  leading  educational 
institutions,  from  the  beginning  of  Princeton  to  Johns  Hopkins  and 
the  University  of  Chicago,  and  including  the  starting  of  deaf  mute 
instruction,  and  the  nation-wide  work  of  the  United  States  Bureau 
of  Education  under  Barnard  (1830)  and  Harris  (1858). 

In  scholarship,  the  standardizing  of  the  English  language  in 
America,  identified  with  the  Yale  names  of  Webster  (1778), 
Worcester  (1811),  and  Professor  Whitney,  and  the  building  up  of 
an  intelligent  understanding  of  the  Oriental  (especially  Biblical) 
languages  of  the  past,  have  been  its  most  characteristic  achievements. 

In  science,  it  has  laid  the  foundations  for  the  invaluable  activities 
of  American  geologists,  and  of  scientific  agriculturists.  Its  men  have 
ever  been  in  close  touch  with  the  practical  needs  of  the  nation. 

In  invention,  the  University's  contribution  has  been  eminently 
constructive,  with  three  of  the  most  important  modern  aids  to 
civilization  and  prosperity  to  its  credit — the  electric  telegraph,  the 
cotton-gin,  the  stone-breaker. 

In  statesmanship  and  jurisprudence,  the  part  plaj^ed  by  Yale 
men  in  signing  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  in  framing  the 
United  States  Constitution,  in  providing  for  the  government  of  the 
western  territories,  in  bringing  unity  into  our  laws,  and  in  advocating 
the  principles  of  justice  among  men,  has  been  described  in  such 
biographies  as  those  of  Oliver  Wolcott  (1747),  William  Samuel 
Johnson  (1744),  Pelatiah  Webster  (1746),  Manasseh  Cutler  (1765), 
William  M.  Evarts  (1837),  and  Chancellor  Kent  (1781). 

These  are  merely  typical.  Similar  conditions  mark  the  Univer- 
sity's contribution  to  literature  and  patriotism.  The  tendency  to 
earnest,  effective  work,  to  constructive  activity,  to  a  positive,  out- 
going attitude  towards  life,  marks  most  of  Yale's  graduates,  both 
conspicuous  and  inconspicuous. 

Such  are  four  marks  of  the  University's  personality  as  developed 
during  two  centuries.  They  form  the  atmosphere  in  which  the 
scholarly  and  intellectual  life  of  Yale  has  been  developed. 

[380] 


CHAPTER  XII 
HISTORIC  UNIVERSITIES  IN  A  DEMOCRACY^ 

One  of  the  chief  dangers  in  a  democracy  is  a  tendency  among 
large  sections  of  the  population  to  overestimate  the  new  and  to  believe 
that  anything  old  must  inevitably  be  antiquated.  The  writer  has 
recently  had  two  experiences  which  indicate  that  this  tendency  is  apt 
to  be  followed  in  judging  educational  institutions.  The  American 
public  seems  to  have  little  appreciation  of  the  deeper  significance  of 
our  long-established  universities.  It  recognizes  the  importance  of 
their  regular  work,  but  it  has  overlooked  their  indirect  contributions 
to  the  nation  as  factors  of  historic  continuity. 

The  first  experience  was  with  a  prominent  officer  of  a  corre- 
spondence school.  He  spoke  with  just  pride  of  its  usefulness,  and 
asked  whether  there  was  an5^thing  which  Harvard  or  Yale  could  do 
for  students  which  his  institution  could  not  accomplish  in  a  shorter 
time.  The  writer  mentioned  in  reply  the  influences  derived  from 
living  for  several  years  amid  historic  associations,  and  in  an  atmos- 
phere of  inherited  culture  and  ideals.  The  only  rejoinder  was  a  shrug 
of  the  shoulders,  and  a  statement  to  the  effect  that  dollars  must  be 
substituted  for  traditions  before  the  old  universities  could  do  their 
best  work — which  suggests  the  inquiry  once  made  of  a  Harvard 
President:  "How  much  would  it  take  to  reproduce  this  plant  in  my 
state?" 

A  business  man  was  responsible  for  the  second  incident.  He 
entered  his  son  at  a  newly  founded  university,  believing  that  the 
absence  from  it  of  any  prominent  social  element  would  be  conducive 
to  democracy  and  morality,  and  that  its  very  modernity  would  be 

1  This  diapter  is  reprinted  from  the  Yale  Review,  July,  1913. 

[381] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

a  guarantee  of  educational  efficienc3\  The  boy  was  transferred  at 
his  own  request,  in  the  middle  of  his  undergraduate  course,  to  one  of 
our  oldest  universities,  to  find  to  his  father's  surprise  that  two 
centuries  of  corporate  life  had  given  the  place  a  background  of 
character  and  scholarship  which  was  stronger  than  the  first  institution 
had  been  able  to  evolve  in  its  brief  histor}\  He  discovered  that 
student  ideals  which  had  in  the  course  of  generations  become  part  and 
parcel  of  the  "folkways"  of  the  college  were  more  valuable  than  all 
newly  promulgated  faculty  edicts  and  regulations  put  together. 

IMPORTANCE  OF  MAINTAINING  HISTORIC  CONTINUITY 

These  experiences  may  be  taken  to  introduce  the  author's  thesis 
that  in  a  democracy,  and  particularly  in  a  period  of  changing  ideals, 
our  ancient  educational  foundations  have  a  special  opportunity  and 
responsibility.  Their  privilege  is  to  serve  as  channels  of  transmission 
for  what  is  noblest  in  the  life  of  the  nation.  It  is  the  purpose  of  this 
chapter  to  show  that  in  this  way  they  are  of  almost  unique  national 
significance,  serving  as  strong  links  with  the  past,  and  helping  to 
secure  that  continuity  which  is  of  special  moment  in  our  countr3\ 
Society  here  is  in  a  constant  state  of  ebb  and  flow.  The  people  are 
in  most  cases  without  that  attachment  to  the  ancestral  home  which 
gives  even  the  mass  of  the  European  peasantry  a  certain  steadying 
background.  INIore  rapid  changes  in  wealth,  in  social  position,  in 
occupation,  in  place  of  abode,  have  probably  occurred  in  the  United 
States  during  the  past  half  century  than  in  any  large  civilized 
community  in  a  time  of  domestic  peace.  The  changes  which 
Emancipation,  European  immigration,  western  settlement,  and  the 
prodigious  material  development  of  the  countr^^  have  brought  about 
in  cutting  off  tens  of  millions  of  people  from  the  sobering  ties  of  home 
and  of  recognized  status,  are  little  realized. 

If  these  unusually  mobile  conditions  of  American  life,  and  the 
need  of  evolving  a  higher  civilization  from  the  old,  are  granted, 
nothing  is  more  necessary  than  that  there  should  be  some  visible 

[382] 


HISTORIC  UNIVERSITIES  IN  A  DEMOCRACY 

and  potent  national  institutions  emphasizing  historic  continuity.  The 
absence  of  a  ruling  house  and  of  a  recognized  aristocracy,  and  the 
short  terms  of  elective  office,  make  this  all  the  more  necessary.  No 
sooner  have  a  President  and  a  Cabinet  secured  a  position  of  dignified 
influence  than  they  are  superseded. 

LACK  OF  BONDS  WITH  THE  PAST  IN  AMERICA 

This  is  the  more  noticeable  as  there  is  no  great  center  in  which 
the  past  is  summed  up  for  the  nation — as  Athens  does  it  for  Greece, 
or  Rome  for  Italy.  We  have  no  compulsoiy  military  service  with 
the  practically  identical  education  for  the  youth  of  all  sections  which 
goes  with  it.  We  are  thankful  for  this,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  such  training  as  seen  in  Prussia  is  highly  influential  in  handing 
down  national  traditions.  A  couple  of  years  of  military  duty,  with 
the  details  of  life  and  much  of  the  framework  of  thought  directed 
from  the  central  government,  makes  it  relatively  easy  to  transmit 
the  country's  ideals  from  generation  to  generation.  The  American 
public  school  system  does  not  entirely  take  its  place,  as  its  connections 
are  mainly  local.  It  is  a  vital  part  of  the  life  of  the  community,  but 
at  most  its  traditions  are  only  state-wide.  In  spite  of  annual  meetings 
of  teachers,  and  of  a  potentially  powerful  but  poorly  supported 
Bureau  of  Education  in  Washington,  there  is  no  national  esprit  de 
corps  among  our  public  schools  such  as  there  is  in  the  army  of  France 
or  of  Italy. 

Nor  does  present-day  American  journalism  render  any  adequate 
service  here.  In  the  multiplicity  of  modern  newspapers  The  Nexv 
York  Tribune  has  not  been  able  to  retain  the  predominent  influence 
on  public  affairs  that  it  had  in  the  North  in  the  days  of  the  Civil  War. 
And  no  other  newspaper  has  arisen  to  take  its  place  with  anything 
like  the  acknowledged  supremacy  held  for  several  generations  in 
England  by  The  Times.  We  have  highly  influential  local  papers 
but  no  one  of  them  has  a  firmly  established  ])()sition  as  a  national 
force  of  large  proportions.     In  fact,  for  the  moment,  some  of  the 

[383] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

magazines  seem  to  be  doing  more  to  influence  the  mind  of  the  nation. 
Of  these,  The  Outlook,  with  its  half -century  of  well-established 
tradition,  may  be  taken  as  an  example  of  our  contention  that  a  back- 
ground of  honorable  history  is  at  least  a  potential  asset  for  any  public 
institution. 

More  powerful  than  journalism  is  English  literature.  Yet  it 
hardly  satisfies  our  desideratum.  It  is  a  force  for  unity  and  continuity 
in  the  country  at  large,  but  its  most  important  parts — the  King  James 
Bible  and  Shakespeare — came  from  across  the  Atlantic.  They  are 
international  rather  than  national  in  scope.  No  writer  of  our  own 
soil  has  as  yet  expressed  the  genius  of  our  people  in  a  way  to  compare 
with  Plato  or  Aristotle  for  Greece,  Cicero  for  Rome,  Goethe  for 
Germany.  We  must  believe  that  the  greatest  names  in  distinctively 
American  literature  are  yet  to  appear. 

A  written  constitution  in  a  measure  meets  the  need  and  yet  only 
in  a  measure.  It  is  not  sufficiently  living  to  be  able  to  reflect  the 
Zeitgeist  at  the  same  time  that  it  reminds  us  of  the  past.  But  we 
should  be  thankful  for  it  and  for  the  Supreme  Court,  its  interpreter, 
as  these  alone  are  in  am^  large  degi*ee  reliable  forces  of  political 
continuity  in  America.  They  are  the  bulwarks  of  the  federal 
government.  To  them  we  must  continue  to  look  if  we  would  make 
sure  that  we  do  not  ruthlessly  break  with  om*  history.  Liberty  and 
law  are  equally  necessary  in  a  democracy,  and  these  ancient  corner- 
stones of  our  political  system  help  support  both.  If  respect  for  them 
were  eliminated,  the  future  would  bring  change  but  not  progress. 

When  we  turn  to  the  field  of  religious  life,  we  find  similar 
conditions.  The  absence  of  an  established  church,  as  in  England, 
is  of  special  significance,  for  a  great  religious  body  with  an  inherited 
liturgy  and  ancient  places  of  worship,  alwaj^s  tends  to  prevent  sudden 
transformations  of  opinion  in  religion,  in  ethics,  and  in  the  social 
order.  We  have  no  historic  cathedrals,  no  St.  Paul's  or  Westminster 
Abbey  for  centuries  identified  with  the  heroes  of  the  nation.  The 
Roman  Catholic  Church  is  a  factor  of  continuity,  and  helpful  as  a 

[  384  ] 


HISTORIC  UNIVERSITIES  IN  A  DEMOCRACY 

guardian  of  public  order  and  of  personal  morality,  especially  in 
dealing  with  the  masses  of  immigrants  from  Southern  Europe.  But 
it  links  them  with  their  own  past  rather  than  with  that  of  the  United 
States.  It  has  been  outside  of  the  main  currents  of  Anglo-Saxon 
progress.  Its  emphasis  is  neither  on  freedom  nor  on  democracy;  so, 
unless  it  proves  untrue  to  its  own  ideal,  it  will  not  satisfy  the  American 
people. 

We  still  have  Congregationalism,  a  small  body  numerically,  but 
of  large  historic  significance  and  a  force  for  liberty  and  enlightenment. 
It  is,  however,  onlj^  one  of  scores  of  religious  bodies,  no  one  of  which 
has  particularly  gripped  the  modern  mind.  Our  tendency  towards 
extreme  denominationalism,  although  working  for  strong  local  and 
ecclesiastical  ties  with  the  past,  tends  to  prevent  any  one  bodj^  from 
becoming  national  in  the  sense  of  adequately  reproducing  and  trans- 
mitting the  broader  currents  of  our  history.  The  New  England  town 
meeting,  the  application  of  the  Congregational  principle  to  political 
life,  survives;  but  it  is  not  a  visible,  tangible  entity.  It  has  largely 
fallen  into  disuse,  and  it  is  too  occasional  in  its  character  to  be 
considered  as  potent  today  in  conserving  what  is  best  in  colonial  and 
early  federal  experience. 

So  we  seek  through  the  domain  of  religion,  politics,  journalism, 
literature,  and  civics,  with  substantial  but  disappointingly  small 
results,  for  institutions  which  conserve  our  national  achievements. 
Let  us  turn,  then,  to  the  field  of  education  to  find  what  contribution 
it  can  make  to  the  maintenance  of  historic  continuit5\  In  the  first 
place,  we  notice  the  almost  complete  absence  of  educational  institu- 
tions (other  than  scientific  bureaus)  under  the  federal  government. 
West  Point  and  Annapolis,  the  only  important  exceptions,  are 
fortunately  situated,  for  both  are  connected  with  the  history  of  the 
Revolutionary  period,  although  their  academies  were  not  founded 
until  much  later.  They  are  intimately  identified  with  the  Civil  War 
and  are  noble  memorials  of  its  traditions.  Their  limitations  from 
our   standpoint   are   self-imposed.      They   train   men   only    for  two 

[  385  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

specialized  professions,  and  are  therefore  outside  the  main  currents 
of  our  American  life. 

The  field  of  secondary  education  yields  even  less.  Our  public 
schools  are  organically  local.  The  government  aids  in  certain  ways, 
but  we  have  not  and  never  have  had  a  federal  system  of  education. 
JNIost  American  schools  with  a  broad  constituency  are  too  modern  to 
have  become  effective  as  guardians  of  a  national  tradition.  There 
are  only  a  few  old  foundations  of  more  than  local  significance.  Of 
these  the  Phillips  academies  at  Andover  and  Exeter  have  the  largest 
claims  to  consideration,  but  they  cannot  as  yet  compare  with  Rugby, 
Winchester,  or  Eton  in  their  appeal  to  the  popular  imagination  as 
institutions  wrapped  up  with  the  country's  history. 

ADVANTAGES  AND  LIMITATIONS  OF  STATE 
UNIVERSITIES 

Our  search  now  requires  a  consideration  of  American  universities, 
to  see  whether  they  can  supply  our  special  need.  The  experience  of 
other  countries  would  indicate  that  probably  only  a  few  of  them  can 
be  truly  representative  of  the  higher  life  of  the  whole  nation.  In 
England,  Oxford  and  Cambridge  stand  by  themselves.  They  have 
had  an  effect  upon  the  thought  and  ideals  of  Great  Britain,  over  a 
long  period,  that  is  far  deeper  than  that  of  any  other  modern 
institution  of  learning  upon  its  own  country.  In  France  there  are 
several  excellent  universities,  but  that  of  Paris  alone  broadly 
represents  the  nation.  In  Germany  the  habit  of  students  migrating 
from  one  center  to  another  so  as  to  sit  at  the  feet  of  more  great 
masters  than  can  be  collected  in  a  single  place,  has  brought  about 
a  somewhat  different  situation.  Yet  the  University  of  Berlin,  at  the 
capital  of  the  empire,  and  with  the  unusually  rich  associations  of  a 
century's  identification  with  great  scholars,  is  the  most  representative 
institution. 

There  is  a  widespread  feeling  in  America  that  a  great  university 
can  be  created  anywhere  in  a  year  b}^  adequate  gifts  of  money.    This 

[386] 


HISTORIC  UNIVERSITIES  IN  A  DEMOCRACY 

corresponds  to  the  temper  of  those  who  seem  to  think  that  a 
completely  reformed  country  can  be  brought  about  in  a  day  by  the 
passing  of  new  laws.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  a  collegiate  foundation 
can  only  have  its  deepest  effect  after  its  character  and  ideals  have 
become  firmly  established  by  a  long  period  of  corporate  life.  For 
the  purpose  of  this  study  few  American  universities  can  meet  the 
threefold  test  which  could  be  successfully  applied  in  England  to 
Oxford  and  Cambridge — influence  on  the  nation's  history,  breadth 
of  constituency,  and  established  standing  in  the  public  mind.  In 
these  respects  the  state  universities  are  at  a  disadvantage,  and  this 
through  no  fault  of  their  own.  They  have  or  will  soon  secure 
adequate  financial  support;  but  they  have  not  the  history,  the 
organization,  or  the  broad  student  representation  to  be  most  effective 
as  national  institutions.  They  supply  for  their  own  states  the  needed 
element  of  continuity.  They  have  lived  through  the  struggles  of 
pioneer  days  and  consequently  have  the  background  which  in  most 
cases  gives  them  long-established  local  prestige.  But  until  recently 
their  outside  influence  has  been  small,  except  in  the  case  of  Michigan 
and  of  Virginia,  which  may  well  claim  the  right  to  be  called  univer- 
sities of  large  historic  significance.  In  some  respects  the  example 
of  Wisconsin,  California,  and  other  state  foundations,  as  virile  leaders 
of  progressive  public  opinion  in  their  communities,  puts  to  shame 
most  of  their  older  eastern  sisters.  But  a  state  university  is  fitted 
by  its  very  constitution  to  serve  its  own  commonwealth  rather  than 
the  whole  nation.  Deriving  its  main  support  from  taxation  and 
legislative  grants,  rather  than  from  endowments,  and  having  to 
satisfy  the  taxpayer,  it  is  apt  to  err  in  overemphasizing  the  value  of 
immediate  utility  in  education,  just  as  its  older  rivals  tend  to  under- 
estimate it.  There  is  no  danger  that  the  spirit  of  the  enthusiastic 
supporter  of  the  old  classical  course  who  thanked  God  that  he  had 
learned  nothing  practical  in  college,  will  ever  dominate  a  state 
institution.  The  latter's  officers  find  it  hard  to  get  adequate  provision 
for  those  cultural  studies  on  which  national  idealism  must  largely 

[387] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

depend.  Their  course  of  action  must  be  unduly  determined  by  the 
necessity  of  providing  concrete  results  which  will  show  the  average 
voter  that  higher  education  "pays."  Most  of  these  universities, 
established  in  new  communities  in  the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  with  the  help  of  the  Morrill  Land  Grant  to  encourage 
"Agriculture  and  the  Mechanic  Arts,"  must  almost  inevitably  strike 
a  different  note  from  Harvard,  founded  early  in  the  seventeenth 
century  for  "the  education  of  ...  .  youth  ....  in  knowledge  and 
godliness,"  or  from  Yale,  which  received  its  charter  half  a  century 
later  for  the  purpose  of  fitting  men  for  "Publick  Employment  both 
in  Church  and  Civil  State." 

It  is  likely  that  the  public  educational  system  of  our  different 
commonwealths  may  some  da}^  be  capped  by  a  federal  university 
at  Washington,  which  would  be  free  from  the  local  limitations  of 
the  state  institutions  and  have  the  advantage  of  historic  surroundings ; 
but  for  our  purposes  this  possibility  need  not  be  considered.  Such 
an  institution  does  not  exist  today,  and  should  it  be  created  it  would 
require  several  generations  before  its  roots  would  be  sufficiently  deep 
in  the  life  of  the  American  people  to  make  it  a  force  of  broad 
significance. 

HISTORIC  UNIVERSITIES  AS  FACTORS  OF  CONTINUITY 

We  are  therefore  driven  back  in  our  search  to  historic  and 
endowed  universities  such  as  Harvard,  Yale,  Princeton,  and 
Columbia.  Harvard  fairly  maintains  the  position  of  leadership 
among  our  schools  of  learning  that  is  naturally  hers  by  right  of  age, 
while  the  first  two  universities  are  the  only  American  institutions 
in  any  field  which  have  been  for  over  two  centuries  factors  of  national 
influence.  They  alone  remain  as  conspicuous,  visible  symbols  of  that 
first  century  of  New  England  Puritanism  to  which  we  are  indebted 
for  laying  deep  the  foundations  of  religion  and  of  democracy.  They 
are  enduring  monuments  of  that  respect  for  education  which  has 

[388] 


HISTORIC  UNIVERSITIES  IN  A  DEMOCRACY 

meant  so  much  to  all  our  commonwealths.  Each  institution  has  its 
strong  individuality  and  hands  down  loyally  its  own  interpretation, 
modified  in  the  course  of  years,  of  the  great  purposes  for  which  these 
shores  were  settled.  Each  stands  prominently  hefore  the  American 
people  as  a  definite  entity  which  reflects  and  helps  to  mold  public 
opinion.  They  both  carry,  in  organization  and  life,  and  in  the  careers 
of  their  graduates,  the  marks  of  every  struggle  through  which  the 
people  of  the  country  have  passed.  In  their  atmosphere  every  student 
should  feel  conscious  of  the  great  currents  of  our  history,  and  should 
learn  the  lesson  that  the  most  lasting  changes  are  those  built  upon 
experience.  They  have  an  advantage  over  their  Continental  neighbors 
and  over  many  of  the  state  universities,  in  that  their  dormitory 
provisions  make  the  handing  down  of  institutional  traditions  a  less 
difficult  matter.  There  is  the  same  difference  in  this  respect  that 
there  is  between  a  day  school  and  a  boarding  school.  The  latter  has 
some  disadvantages,  but  in  it  it  is  easier  to  maintain  a  good  spirit 
when  once  gained,  and  harder  to  break  a  bad  one,  than  in  the  former. 
So  it  is  that  residential  universities  and  colleges,  like  those  of  New 
England,  of  New  Jersey,  and  of  Virginia,  and  especially  those 
separated  from  the  changing  and  complex  life  of  great  cities,  are  best 
adapted  to  transmit  to  the  future  a  body  of  worthy  ideals. 

We  can  hardly  overestimate  the  service  rendered  by  our  old 
collegiate  foundations  as  links  with  the  life  of  earlier  generations. 
Harvard  would  not  be  Harvard  but  for  her  identification  with  the 
Adamses  and  the  Lowells  and  ^vith  many  leading  American  men  of 
letters  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Princeton  would  not  be  Princeton 
without  the  rich  associations  with  Revolutionary  struggles  and  the 
great  name  of  President  Madison.  Columbia  is  justly  proud  of 
John  Jay  and  of  Alexander  Hamilton;  and  Williams  of  President 
Garfield.  At  Yale  it  is  the  line  of  theologians  beginning  with 
Jonathan  Edwards,  and  of  scientists  from  Benjamin  Silliman  on, 
and  the  figures  of  Nathan  Hale  and  of  Chancellor  Kent,  that  make 
the   spirit   of  the   place   what   it   is.     INIost   of  these   colleges   are 

[  389  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

inseparably  linked  with  the  Indian  wars  of  the  Colonies,  with  the 
Revolution  and  the  Civil  War,  and  especially  with  the  men  who  laid 
the  foundations  of  our  government.  They  have  always  been  centers 
of  intelligent  patriotism.  President  Witherspoon  at  Princeton  and 
President  Stiles  at  Yale  were  leaders  of  public  opinion  at  the  time 
of  the  Revolution,  and  well  represented  the  spirit  of  the  graduates 
and  students. 

The  fact  is  that  American  collegiate  history  is  full  of  romance 
and  of  thrillingly  interesting  occurrences  of  which  more  should  be 
made.  The  founding  of  Dartmouth  College  in  the  wilderness  by 
Eleazar  Wheelock  for  the  purpose  of  educating  Indian  youth;  the 
association  of  Benjamin  Franklin  with  the  plan  for  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania,  of  Rufus  Putnam  and  of  Manasseh  Cutler  with 
that  for  Ohio  Universitj^  of  Thomas  Jefferson  with  the  creation  of 
the  University  of  Virginia,  and  of  the  two  great  men  memorialized 
in  the  name  of  Washington  and  Lee  University;  the  impressive 
commemorative  exercises  at  Harvard  and  Yale  at  the  Civil  War's 
close,  the  former  identified  with  the  participation  of  Edward  Everett, 
James  Russell  Lowell,  and  Phillips  Brooks,  the  latter  with  that  of 
William  M.  Evarts  and  Horace  Bushnell;  the  invasion  of  New 
Haven  by  the  British  under  General  Tryon  when  good  President 
Naphtali  Daggett,  musket  in  hand,  showed  his  ardent  patriotism; 
the  setting  up  of  the  first  printing  press  on  this  continent  at  Harvard 
College,  and  Washington's  assuming  command  of  the  American 
troops  under  the  shadow  of  her  buildings;  the  temporary  holding 
of  Congress  in  old  Nassau  Hall;  the  beginning  of  the  University  of 
Georgia  with  Abraham  Baldwin,  one  of  the  framers  of  our 
Constitution — these  are  facts  taken  almost  at  random  indicating 
the  close  association  of  some  of  our  long-established  universities  with 
the  most  pregnant  events  in  American  history.  They  have  the 
associations  necessar\^  to  make  them  factors  in  the  maintenance  of 
historical  continuity  for  the  whole  country. 

And  surely  everj^thing  which  can  be  done  to  make  our  people 

[390] 


HISTORIC  UNIVERSITIES  IN  A  DEMOCRACY 

conscious  of  the  best  in  the  past  is  worth  while.  Mt.  Vernon,  calling 
to  mind  objectively  the  figure  of  the  first  President,  the  battle  field 
of  Gettysburg,  where  North  and  South  can  think  with  equal  pride  of 
the  valor  of  a  previous  generation,  Independence  Hall  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  some  of  the  Washington  public  buildings,  are  all  helpful. 
They  remind  us  of  the  wisdom  and  the  courage  of  the  men  who  have 
created  these  United  States.  But  no  one  of  these,  except  to  some 
degree  Mt.  Vernon,  lets  us  look  behind  the  scenes.  They  show  us 
the  places  where  great  men  did  great  deeds  rather  than  those  where 
they  received  the  inspiration  and  training  which  made  these  deeds 
possible.  Truly  to  find  the  latter  we  should  have  to  seek  for  hundreds 
of  homes,  of  village  schools,  and  of  country  churches,  scattered 
throughout  the  states,  and  we  should  find  most  of  them  long  since 
demolished.  But  the  colleges  and  universities  which  many  of  these 
men  attended,  where  the  torch  of  learning  and  the  passion  for 
patriotism  have  always  existed,  still  remain.  Some  of  their  buildings 
and  campus  trees,  and  many  of  their  books,  pictures,  customs, 
and  foundations,  go  back  to  colonial  times.  They  are  especially 
fortunate  at  Cambridge  in  the  matter  of  old  landmarks,  as  several 
dignified  buildings  still  standing  antedate  the  Revolution.  Alumni 
sentiment  averted  the  destruction  of  Connecticut  Hall  at  New  Haven, 
and  may  still  preserve,  through  removal  to  another  site,  the  beautiful 
old  library,  replete  with  memories  of  the  decades  preceding  the  Civil 
War. 

OPPORTUNITIES  TO  LINK  LONG-ESTABLISHED  UNIVERSITIES 
W^ITH  NATIONAL  HISTORY 

But  our  historic  universities  have  not  half  appreciated  their 
birthright.  Harvard  has  made  the  best  beginning.  Its  Memorial 
Society  interests  itself  in  marking  the  rooms  of  eminent  Harvardians, 
and  in  commemorating  places  of  interest  in  and  about  the  "Y^ard." 
Harvard,  Yale,  Columbia,  Princeton,  Brown,  Dartmouth,  and  some 
other  colleges,  have  valuable  collections  of  portraits  of  graduates  and 

[  391  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

benefactors,  supplemented  at  New  Haven  by  the  important  Revolu- 
tionary paintings  by  John  Trumbull,  and  at  Providence  by  the  John 
Carter  Brown  Americana.  Occasionally  the  anniversary  of  a  founder 
or  of  a  distinguished  graduate  is  commemorated,  such  as  the  annual 
service  in  Cambridge  in  memory  of  John  Harvard,  or  the  two 
hundredth  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  Jonathan  Edwards,  which  was 
suitably  marked  at  Yale.  More  should  be  made  of  such  events  so 
as  to  interest  students  in  the  worthies  of  the  past  and  to  fit  them  to 
transmit  to  posterity  its  highest  ideals.  Sibley,  Dexter,  and  others 
have  preserved  the  historic  and  biographic  materials  connected  with 
over  two  centuries  of  life  at  our  most  ancient  seats  of  learning.  Their 
books  afford  a  mine  of  information  for  future  scholars  in  many  fields. 
But  nothing  adequate  has  been  done  to  make  the  rank  and  file  of 
students  aware  of  their  rich  inheritance.  The  possibilities  for  further 
development  are  almost  limitless.  By  tablets  and  other  forms  of 
memorials,  the  heroism  and  wisdom  of  former  collegians  should  be 
kept  visibly  before  the  student  body.  There  need  be  no  less  honor 
paid  to  benefactors  but  there  should  be  more  paid  to  the  men  whose 
books  and  deeds  have  helped  to  create  the  nation.  Why  should  not 
a  "bidding  prayer"  call  to  mind  distinguished  teachers  and  graduates? 
Why  not  have  annual  commemorative  exercises,  when  the  history  and 
achievements  of  the  University  are  duly  recorded  ?  Why  not  develop 
college  literature — historical,  biographic,  descriptive,  romantic, 
poetic — to  rival  on  this  side  of  the  ocean,  at  least  in  quality,  that 
noble  collection  of  works — scores  in  number — which  are  "in  praise 
of  Oxford"?  Why  not  institute  courses  on  the  institution's  life  and 
its  contacts  with  and  influence  upon  the  main  currents  of  our  history? 
Why  should  we  not  lay  more  emphasis  in  the  academic  year  on 
patriotic  days,  Washington's  Birthday,  Lincoln's  Birthday,  Memorial 
Day,  with  appropriate  references  to  the  connection  of  the  University 
with  the  movements  for  which  these  men  and  events  stood?  And 
incidentally  might  we  not  have  a  course  in  American  history  as  an 
absolute  requirement  for  admission  to  every  college? — a  strange  lack 

[392] 


HISTORIC  UNIVERSITIES  IN  A  DEMOCRACY 

today,  as  it  seems  to  the  writer,  but  one  frequently  found.  In  a  word, 
why  should  not  patriotism  be  made  a  more  conscious  part  of  higher 
education  with  special  reference  to  the  identification  of  the  University 
and  its  sons  with  the  development  of  these  United  States? 

A  half-century  ago  there  was  in  full  sway  at  Yale  an  annual 
event  known  as  the  "Statement  of  Facts."  It  degenerated,  like  most 
good  customs,  but  it  always  retained  as  its  nucleus  a  kind  of 
glorification  of  the  ablest  and  best  Yale  men.  It  was  a  student  event, 
not  a  Faculty  one — hence  it  was  all  the  more  effective.  The  orator 
from  Linonia  told  the  Freshmen  of  the  achievements  of  former 
members  of  his  society.  Chancellor  Kent,  Nathan  Hale,  John  C. 
Calhoun,  William  M.  Evarts,  Timothy  Dwight,  Eli  Whitney,  and 
many  others  were  mentioned.  The  representative  of  Brothers  in 
Unity  followed;  and  David  Humphreys,  Horace  Bushnell,  John  M. 
Clayton,  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse,  and  Noah  Webster  were  seldom 
forgotten.  Cannot  something  of  the  kind  be  fostered  at  our  univer- 
sities today — to  give  men  at  the  outset  of  their  college  life  at  least  a 
glimpse  of  the  rich  traditions  into  which  they  may  enter?  It  is 
possible  that  the  state  universities  of  the  West  may  some  day 
command  larger  resources  than  their  friendly  rivals  of  the  East  with 
only  private  endowment,  but  money  can  never  buy  the  latter's  price- 
less heritage  of  participation  in  the  building  of  the  nation.  Let  us 
not  forget  that  association  with  the  makers  of  history  is,  in  terms  of 
the  spirit,  an  asset  of  the  first  importance. 

But  this  deeper  realization  of  the  sacred  associations  of  the  past — 
the  type  of  thing  to  which  men  of  feeling  are  so  sensitive  when  they 
enter  an  ancient  church  where  good  people  have  worshiped  for 
centuries — is  not  alone  enough.  With  it  must  go  a  determination 
to  meet  the  needs  of  the  present  and  of  the  future.  Our  most 
venerable  universities  were  centers  of  ardent  patriotism  and  of 
progress  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution  and  of  the  Civil  War.  They 
sent  out  men  by  the  hundreds  to  fight  the  battles  of  liberty.  This 
fact  bound  them  with  bands  of  steel  to  the  nation's  heart.    They  must 

[393] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

continue  to  be  actively  on  the  side  of  progress  in  solving  the  many 
social,  political,  and  industrial  problems  of  today,  or  else  forfeit  their 
claim  to  represent  the  American  people.  Their  contact  with 
enthusiastic  youth  from  all  sections,  combined  with  their  firm  sense 
of  dependence  upon  the  past,  should  make  them  well-balanced  leaders 
in  meeting  the  country's  needs.  The  link  between  Harvard  (1638), 
Yale  (1701),  Princeton  (1746),  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
(1751),  and  Columbia  (1754) — the  only  existing  universities^  firmly 
established  with  wide  influence  before  the  Revolution — and  the  most 
important  chapters  in  our  history,  will  be  broken  by  any  institution 
which,  in  the  struggles  for  freedom  now  upon  us,  throws  its  strength 
to  the  side  of  reaction.  Universities  may  be  liberal,  as  in  Russia,  or 
conservative,  as  in  England,  and  yet  continue  forces  for  good.  But 
the  moment  they  become  reactionary  they  will  forfeit  that  respect  of 
the  people  which  is  necessary  for  any  successful  institution  in  a 
democracy. 

It  is  the  privilege  and  duty  of  that  small  group  of  universities 
whose  history  and  constituency  entitle  them  to  be  considered  factors 
of  national  influence  to  lead  the  country  today  in  interpreting  its  best 
aspirations.  In  this  way  they  will  be  true  to  their  past  by  passing 
on  the  best  American  traditions  to  the  future  without  any  break  in 
historic  continuity. 

DIU  FLOREAT  ALMA  MATER  YALENSIS. 


2  William  and  Mary  (1693)  and  Washington  and  Lee  (1749)  are  Virginia  colleges  rather 
than  national  universities.  Dartmouth  and  Rutgers  were  founded  only  just  prior  to  the 
Revolution   (1770).     Brovni  was  established  in  1765. 


[394] 


APPENDIX  I 

NATIONAL  INFLUENCE  OF  YALE  GRADUATES 
INFLUENCE  THROUGH  STATES 

The  influence  of  most  of  the  eminent  Yalensians  commemorated 
has  been  country-wide  in  scope,  but  as  so  large  a  proportion  of  them 
date  back  to  colonial  days,  the  New  England  States  and  the  Atlantic 
seaboard  have  claimed  the  largest  number.  It  has  therefore  seemed 
worth  while  to  show  the  truly  national  character  of  Yale's  influence 
by  giving  the  names  of  graduates  who  have  held  representative 
positions  in  the  various  states  and  territories.  As  usual  in  these 
volumes,  the  Quinquennial  Catalogue  of  1910  is  taken  as  the  main 
authority,  while  the  offices  chosen  are  those  of  Governor,  Chief 
Justice,  United  States  Senator,  College  and  University  President, 
and  Bishop  (Protestant  Episcopal).  It  is  believed  that  taken 
together  these  will  give  a  fair  idea  of  the  direct  influence  of  the 
University  on  the  life  of  different  sections  of  the  country.  Unfortu- 
nately, no  list  of  names  can  adequately  indicate  the  effect  of  the  work 
of  hundreds  of  home  missionaries,  especially  of  Congregational 
ministers,  who  often  held  no  important  offices,  but  who  gave  their 
lives  unselfishly  and  usefully  to  the  building  up  of  civilization  in  the 
Western  states.  The  "Yale  Bands"  that  went  to  Illinois,  Iowa,  and 
Oregon,  were  typical  of  this  movement,  which  is  discussed  elsewhere. 

The  list  indicates  that  the  states  where  the  University's  influence 
has  been  most  felt  are,  after  Connecticut,  New  York  (32  repre- 
sentative oflSces),  Ohio  (16),  Massachusetts  (14),  Illinois  (13),  Ver- 
mont (13),  Georgia  (12),  Missouri  (12).  Every  state  and  territory 
in  the  Union  is  represented,  excej^t  Arizona,  Oklahoma,  and  Utah, 

[395] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

and  in  all  of  these  Yale  graduates  have  been,  and  are,  engaged  in 

useful  service. 

Alabama 

President  Henry  Swift  DeForest,  Talladega,  (B.A.  1857) 
Bishop  Richard  Hooker  Wilmer  (B.A.  1836) 

Alaska 
Governor  John  Green  Brady  (B.A.  1874) 

Arkansas 
President  Albert  Webb  Bishop,  Arkansas  Industrial  University,  (B.A.  1853) 

California 
Governor  Henry  Huntley  Haight  (B.A.  1844) 
President  Henry  Durant,  State  University,  (B.A.  1827) 
President  Martin  Kellogg,  State  University,  (B.A.  1850) 
President  Daniel  Coit  Gilman,  State  University,  (B.A.  1852) 
President  Homer  Baxter  Sprague,  Mills  College,  (B.A.  1852) 
Bishop  William  Ingraham  Kip  (B.A.  1831) 

Colorado 
Governor  Albert  Washington  Mclntire  (B.A.  1873) 
Senator  Edward  Oliver  Wolcott  (Class  of  1870) 

Acting  President  James  Hutchison  Kerr,  Colorado  College,  (B.A.  1865) 
Bishop  Benjamin  Brewster  (B.A.  1882) 

Connecticut 
Governor  Thomas  Fitch  (B.A.  1721) 
Governor  Oliver  Wolcott  (B.A.  1747) 
Governor  John  Treadwell  (B.A.  1767) 
Governor  Oliver  Wolcott,  Jr.,  (B.A.   1778) 
Governor  Roger  Griswold  (B.A.  1780) 
Governor  John  Cotton  Smith  (B.A.  1783) 
Governor  Samuel  Augustus  Foot  (B.A.  1797) 
Governor  Joseph  Trumbull  (B.A.  1801) 
Governor  Charles  Hobby  Pond  (B.A.  1802) 
Governor  Gideon  Tomlinson  (B.A.  1802) 
Governor  Clark  Bissell   (B.A.   1806) 
Governor  William  Wolcott  Ellsworth   (B.A.   1810) 
Governor  Roger  Sherman  Baldwin   (B.A.   1811) 
Governor  Henry  Button   (B.A.   1818) 
Governor  William  Thomas   Minor   (B.A.   1834) 
Governor  Richard  Dudley  Hubbard  (B.A.   1839) 
Governor  Charles  Roberts  Ingersoll   (B.A.   1840) 

[396] 


APPENDIX  I 

Governor  Henry  Baldwin  Harrison   (B.A.   1846) 
Governor  Luzon  Burritt  Morris   (B.A.   1854) 
Governor  Simeon  Eben  Baldwin   (B.A.   1861) 
Governor  Henry  Roberts    (B.A.    1877) 
Chief  Justice  Zephaniah  Swift   (B.A.   1778) 
Chief  Justice  Stephen  Titus  Hosmer   (B.A.   1782) 
Chief  Justice  David  Daggett  (B.A.   1783) 
Chief  Justice  Thomas  Scott  Williams   (B.A.   1794) 
Chief  Justice  Samuel  Church   (B.A.   1803) 
Chief  Justice  Henry  Matson  Waite   (B.A.   1809) 
Chief  Justice  William  Lucius  Storrs   (B.A.   1814) 
Chief  Justice  Origen  Storrs  Seymour   (B.A.   1824) 
Chief  Justice  Thomas  Belden  Butler   (M.D.   1828) 
Chief  Justice  Simeon  Eben  Baldwin  (B.A.   1861) 
Senator  William  Samuel  Johnson   (B.A.   1744) 
Senator  Stephen  Mix  Mitchell   (B.A.   1763) 
Senator  James  Hillhouse   (B.A.   1773) 
Senator  Samuel  Whittelsey  Dana  (B.A.  1775) 
Senator  Chauncey  Goodrich   (B.A.   1776) 
Senator  Uriah  Tracy   (B.A.   1778) 
Senator  David  Daggett   (B.A.   1783) 
Senator  James  Lanman  (B.A.   1788) 
Senator  Samuel  Augustus  Foot  (B.A.  1797) 
Senator  Gideon  Tomlinson   (B.A.   1802) 
Senator  Jabez  Williams  Huntington  (B.A.  1806) 
Senator  Thaddeus  Betts   (B.A.   1807) 
Senator  Roger  Sherman  Baldwin   (B.A.   1811) 
Senator  Truman  Smith   (B.A.   1815) 
Senator  Francis  Gillette  (B.A.  1829) 
Senator  Orris  Sanford  Ferry   (B.A.   1844) 
Senator  Frank  Bosworth  Brandegee   (B.A.   1885) 
President  Ezra  Stiles,  Yale  University,   (B.A.   1746) 
President  Naphtali  Daggett,  Yale  University,   (B.A.   1748) 
President  Timothy  Dwight,  Yale  University,   (B.A.   1769) 
President  Jeremiah  Day,  Yale  University,   (B.A.   1795) 
President  Theodore  Dwight  Woolsey,  Yale  University,   (B.A.   1820) 
President  Noah  Porter,  Yale  University,   (B.A.   1831) 
President  Timothy  Dwight,  Yale  University,   (B.A.    1849) 
President  Arthur  Twining  Hadley,  Yale  University,   (B.A.   1876) 
President  Nathaniel  Sheldon  Wheaton,  Trinity  College,   (B.A.   1814) 
Acting  President  William  North  Rice,  Wesleyan  University,   (PIi.D.   1867) 
President  Benjamin  Franklin  Koons,  Storrs  Agricultural  College,  (Ph.B.  1881) 
President  Rufus  Whittaker  Stimson,  Connecticut  Agricultural  College,   (B.D. 
1897) 

[  397  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Bishop  Samuel  Seabury  (B.A.  1748) 
Bishop  Abraham  Jarvis  (BA.  1761) 
Bishop  Chauncey  Bunce  Brewster   (BA.   1868) 

Delaware 

Chief  Justice  John  Middleton  Clayton  (B.A.  1815) 
Senator  John  Wales    (B.A.    1801) 
Senator  John  Middleton  Clayton   (B.A.    1815) 
Senator  Anthony  Higgins   (B.A.   1861) 

Florida 
President  Andrew  Sledd,  State  University,  (Ph.D.  1903) 
Bishop  Francis  Huger  Rutledge  (B.A.  1820) 

Georgia 
Governor  Lyman  Hall   (B.A.   1747) 
Governor  Nathan  Brownson   (B.A.    1761) 
Governor  Joseph  Emerson  Brown   (LL.B.   1846) 
Chief  Justice  Joseph  Fimerson  Brown  (LL.B.  1846) 
Senator  Abraham  Baldwin   (B.A.   1772) 
Senator  John  Elliott   (B.A.    1794) 
Senator  Joseph  Emerson  Brown   (LL.B.   1846) 
President  Abraham  Baldwin,  State  University,   (B.A.   1772) 
President  Josiah  Meigs,  State  University,   (B.A,   1778) 
President  Augustus  Baldwin  Longstreet,  Emory  College,   (B.A.   1813) 
President  Horace  Bumstead,  Atlanta  University,   (B.A.    1863) 
President  Edward  Twichell  Ware,  Atlanta  University,   (B.A.   1897) 

Hawaii 
Governor  Walter  Frear   (B.A.   1885) 
Governor  George  Robert  Carter   (Ph.B.   1888) 
Chief  Justice  Albert  Francis  Judd   (B.A.   1862) 
Chief  Justice  Walter  Frear   (B.A.    1885) 
President  William  DeWitt  Alexander,  Oahu  College,  (B.A.  1855) 

Idaho 
Senator  Frederic  Thomas  DuBois   (B.A.   1872) 

Illinois 
Chief  Justice  Benjamin  Drake  Magruder  (B.A.   1856) 
Senator  Elias  Kent  Kane  (B.A.  1813) 
President  Edward  Beecher,  Illinois  College,   (B.A.  1822) 
President  Julius  Monson  Sturtevant,  Illinois  College,  (B.A.  1826) 
President  Clifford  Webster  Barnes,  Illinois  College,  (B.A.  1889) 
President  John  Putnam  Gulliver,  Knox  College,  (B.A.  1840) 

[398] 


APPENDIX  I 

President  Franklin  Woodbury  Fisk,  Chicago  Theological  Seminary,  (B.A.  1849) 
President  John  Curtis  Burroughs,  Chicago  University,  (B.A.  1842) 
President  William  Rainey  Harper,  University  of  Chicago,  (Ph.D.  1875) 
Acting  President  Daniel  Bonbright,  North%vestern  University,  (B.A.  1850) 
President  Leander  Hubbell  Potter,  Northern  Illinois  College,  (B.A.  1854) 
President  James  G.  K.  McClure,  Lake  Forest  University  and  McCormick 

Theological  Seminary,  (B.A.  1870) 
President  Gustav  Albert  Andreen,  Augustana  College,  (B.A.  1894) 

Indiana 

President  John  Hiram  Lathrop,  State  University,  (B.A.  1819) 
President  Henry  Turner  Eddy,  Rose  Polytechnic,  (B.A.  1867) 

Iowa 

Chief  Justice  Elias  Hewitt  Williams  (B.A.  1840) 

President  George  Thacher,  State  University,  (B.A.  1840) 

President  William  Brush,  Upper  Iowa  University,  and  University  of  Northwest, 

(B.A.  1850) 
President  James  Marshall,  Coe  College,  (B.A.  1857) 
President  George  Edwin  MacLean,  State  University,  (B.D.  1874) 

Kansas 

Chancellor  Frank  Strong,  State  University,  (B.A.  1884) 
President  Norman  Plass,  Washburn  College,  (B.D.  1886) 
President  Frank  Knight  Sanders,  Washburn  College,  (Ph.D.  1889) 
President  Albert  Barnes  Irwin,  Highland  College,  (B.D.  1875) 
Bishop  Elisha  Smith  Thomas  (B.A.  1858) 
Bishop  Sidney  Catlin  Partridge,  Salina,  (B.A.  1880) 

Kentucky 
Chief  Justice  Thomas  Alexander  Marshall  (B.A.  1815) 
President  Horace  HoUey,  Transylvania  University,  (B.A.  1803) 

Louisiana 

Chief  Justice  Thomas  Slidell  (B.A.  1825) 

Senator  Randall  Lee  Gibson  (B.A.  1853) 

President  Augustus  Baldwin  Longstreet,  Centenary  College,  (B.A.  1813) 

President  William  Preston  Johnston,  State  University  and  Tulane  University, 

(B.A.  1852) 
President  Henry  Lynes  Hubbell,  Lake  Charles  College,  (B.A.  1854) 

Maine 
Chief  Justice  John  Andrew  Peters  (B.A.  1842) 

[399] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

Maryland 

President  Bethel  Judd,  St.  John's  College,  (B.A.  1797) 

President  Hector  Humphreys,  St.  John's  College,  (B.A.  1818) 

President  Henry  Barnard,  St.  John's  College,  (B.A.  1830) 

President  Daniel  Coit  Oilman,  Johns  Hopkins  University,  (B.A.  1852) 

President  James  William  Cain,  Washington  College,  (B.A.  1884) 

Massachusetts 

Governor  John  Davis  (B.A.  1812) 

Governor  William  Barrett  Washburn  (B.A.  1844) 

Chief  Justice  Marcus  Perrin  Knowlton  (B.A.  1860) 

Senator  Theodore  Sedgwick  (B.A.  1765) 

Senator  Isaac  Chapman  Bates  (B.A.  1802) 

Senator  John  Davis  (B.A.  1812) 

Senator  Julius  Rockwell  (B.A.  1826) 

Senator  Henry  Laurens  Dawes  (B.A.  1839) 

Senator  William  Barrett  Washburn  (B.A.  1844) 

President  Ebenezer  Fitch,  Williams  College,  (B.A.  1777) 

President  Edward  Dorr  Griffin,  Williams  College,  (B.A.  1790) 

President  Heman  Humphrey,  Amherst  College,  (B.A.  1805) 

President  Samuel  Henry  Lee,  American  International  College,  (B.A.  1858) 

President  Marion  LeRoy  Burton,  Smith  College,  (B.D,  1906) 

Michigan 

Governor  William  Hull  (B.A.  1772) 

Senator  John  Patton  (B.A.  1875) 

Bishop  Thomas  Frederick  Davies  (B.A.  1853) 

Minnesota 

Chief  Justice  Henry  Zachariah  Hayner  (B.A.  1826) 

Chief  Justice  William  Henry  Welch  (B.A.  1827) 

Chief  Justice  Isaac  Atwater  (B.A.  1844) 

President  Cyrus  Northrop,  State  University,  (B.A.  1857) 

President  George  Edgar  Vincent,  State  University,  (B.A.  1885) 

President  William  Henry  Sallmon,  Carleton  College,  (B.A.  1894) 

President  Donald  John  Cowling,  Carleton  College,  (B.A.  1903) 

Mississippi 

President  Simeon  Colton,  Mississippi  College,  (B.A.  1806) 
President  Augustus  Baldwin  Longstreet,  State  University,  (B.A.  1813) 
President  Frederick  A.  P.  Barnard,  State  University,  (B.A.  1828) 
President  William  Kirtland  Douglas,  Jefferson  College,  (B.A.  1851) 

[400] 


■M 


APPENDIX  I 

Missouri 

Governor  Trusten  Polk  (B.A.  1831) 

Governor  Benjamin  Gratz  Brown  (B.A.  1847) 

Senator  Trusten  Polk  (B.A.  1831) 

Senator  Benjamin  Gratz  Brown  (B.A.  1847) 

President  Elihu  Whittelsey  Baldwin,  Wabash  College,  (B.A.  1812) 

President  John  Hiram  Lathrop,  State  University,  (B.A.  1819) 

President  William  Wilson  Hudson,  State  University,  (B.A.  1827) 

President  William  Bestor  Corbyn,  St.  Paul's  College,  (B.A,  1839) 

Chancellor  Joseph  Gibson  Hoyt,  Washington  University,  (B.A.  1840) 

Chancellor  William  Chauvenet,  Washington  University,  (B.A.  1840) 

President  Clinton  Lockhart,  Christian  University,  (Ph.D.  1894) 

Bishop  Charles  Franklin  Robertson  (B.A.  1859) 

Montana 
President  George  John  McAndrew,  Montana  Normal  School,  (B.A.  1884) 

Nebraska 

President  David  Brainerd  Perry,  Doane  College,  (B.A.  1863) 
Chancellor  James  Irving  Manatt,  State  University,  (Ph.D.  1873) 
Chancellor  George  Edwin  MacLean,  State  University,  (B.D.  1874) 
President  Alfred  Mundy  Wilson,  Grand  Island  College,  (Ph.D.  1889) 

Nevada 

Senator  William  Morris  Stewart  (Class  of  1852,  M.A.  1865) 
Senator  Francis  Griffith  Newlands  (Class  of  1867,  M.A.  1901) 

New  Hampshire 
Senator  Simeon  Olcott  (B.A.  1761) 
Senator  Jeremiah  Mason  (B.A.  1788) 

President  Eleazar  Wheelock,  Dartmouth  College,  (B.A.  1733) 
President  Bennet  Tyler,  Dartmouth  College,  (B.A.  1804) 

New  Jersey 

Governor  William  Livingston  (B.A.  1741) 

Senator  John  Fairfield  Dryden  (Class  of  1865) 

Senator  John  Kean  (Class  of  1876,  M.A.  1890) 

President  Jonathan  Dickinson,  Princeton  University,  (B.A.  1706) 

President  Jonathan  Edwards,  Princeton  University,  (B.A.  1720) 

President  Aaron  Burr,  Princeton  University,  (B.A.  1735) 

President  John  Henry  Livingston,  Rutgers  College,  (B.A.  1762) 

President  Abraham  Bruyn  Hasbrouck,  Rutgers  College,  (B.A.  1810) 

President  Austin  Scott,  Rutgers  College,  (B.A.  1869) 

Bishop  Edwin  Stevens  Lines,  Newark,  (B.A.  1872) 

[401  ] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

New  Mexico 

Governor  William  Joseph  Mills  (LL.B.  1877) 

Chief  Justice  James  Hamilton  Shorter  (B.A.  1829) 

Chief  Justice  William  Joseph  Mills  (LL.B.  1877) 

President  Winfred  Ernest  Garrison,  New  Mexico  Normal  University,  and 

College  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanical  Arts,  (B.A.  1894) 
President  Thadeous  Hugh  Claypool,  New  Mexico  Baptist  College,  (B.A.  1898) 

New  York 
Governor  Samuel  Jones  Tilden  (B.A.  1837) 
Chief  Justice  Richard  Morris  (B.A.  1748) 
Chief  Justice  James  Kent  (B.A.  1781) 
Chief  Justice  Alexander  Smith  Johnson  (B.A.  1835) 
Senator  John  Sloss  Hobart  (B.A.  1757) 
Senator  James  Watson  (B.A.  1776) 
Senator  William  Maxwell  Evarts  (B.A.  1837) 
Senator  Thomas  Collier  Piatt  (Class  of  1853,  M.A.  1876) 
Senator  Chauncey  Mitchell  Depew  (B.A.  1856) 
President  Samuel  Johnson,  Columbia  University,  (B.A.  1714) 
President  William  Samuel  Johnson,  Columbia  University,  (B.A.  1744) 
President  Frederick  A.  P.  Barnard,  Columbia  University,  (B.A.  1828) 
President  Azel  Backus,  Hamilton  College,  (B.A.  1787) 
President  Henry  Davis,  Hamilton  College,  (B.A.  1796) 
President  Simeon  North,  Hamilton  College,  (B.A.  1825) 
President  Samuel  Ware  Fisher,  Hamilton  College,  (B.A.  1835) 
President  Alexander  Hodgson  Stevens,  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons, 

(B.A.  1807) 
President  Edward  Delafield,  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  (B.A.  1812) 
President  James  Woods  McLane,  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  (B.A. 

1861) 
President  William  Adams,  Union  Theological  Seminary,  (B.A.  1827) 
Chancellor  James  Osborne  Putnam,  University  of  Buffalo,  (B.A.  1839) 
Chancellor  Wilson  Shannon  Bissell,  University  of  Buffalo,  (B.A.  1869) 
President  Andrew  Dickson  White,  Cornell  University,  (B.A.  1853) 
Acting  President  Charlton  T.  Lewis,  Troy  University,  (B.A.  1853) 
President  Augustus   Hopkins  Strong,  Rochester  Theological  Seminary,   (B.A. 

1857) 
President  William  Thompson  Lusk,  Bellevue  Hospital  Medical  College,  (B.A. 

1859) 
President  Daniel  St.   John   Roosa,  Post-Graduate  Medical  School,    (Class  of 

1860,  M.A.  1868) 
President  Samuel  Hanna  Frisbee,  College  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  (B.A.  1861) 
President  William  Everett  Waters,  Wells  College,  (B.A.  1878) 

[402] 


APPENDIX  I 

President  Charles  Herbert  Levermore,  Adelphi  College,  (B.A.  1879) 

President  Boothe  Colwell  Davis,  Alfred  University,  (B.D.  1893) 

Bishop  William  Heathcote  DeLancey,  Western  New  York,  (BA.  1817) 

North  Carolina 
Chief  Justice  William  Nathan  Smith  (BA.  1834.) 
Senator  George  Edmund  Badger  (BA.  1813) 
President  George  Wilson  McPhail,  Davidson  College,  (B.A.  1835) 
President  John  Franklin  Crowell,  Trinity  College,  (B.A.  1883) 
President  Jesse  Cobb  Caldwell,  Atlantic  Christian  College,  (B.D.  1903) 

North  Dakota 
President  Homer  Baxter  Sprague,  State  University,  (B.A.  1852) 
President  Webster  Merrifield,  State  University,  (B.A.  1877) 
President  Frank  LeRond  McVey,  State  University,  (Ph.D.  1895) 
President  Edmund  March  Vittum,  Fargo  College,  (B.D.  1884) 

Ohio 

Governor  Samuel  Huntington  (B.A.  1785) 

Governor  Return  Jonathan  Meigs  (B.A.  1785) 

Governor  Seabury  Ford  (B.A.  1825) 

Chief  Justice  Samuel  Huntington  (B.A.  1785) 

Chief  Justice  Return  Jonathan  Meigs  (B.A.  1785) 

Chief  Justice  Peter  Hitchcock  (B.A.  1801) 

Senator  Return  Jonathan  Meigs  (B.A.  1785) 

Senator  Stanley  Griswold  (B.A.  1786) 

President  Lyman  Beecher,  Lane  Theological  Seminary,  (B.A.  1797) 

President  David  Bates  Douglass,  Kenyon  College,  (B.A.  1813) 

President  Thomas  Mather  Smith,  Kenyon  College,  (B.A.  1816) 

President  Henry  Lawrence  Hitchcock,  Western  Reserve  College,  (B.A.  1832) 

President  Carroll  Cutler,  Western  Reserve  College,  (B.A.  1854) 

President  George  Scott,  Otterbein  University,  (Ph.D.  1890) 

President  Newton  Bracken  Kelly,  Franklin  College,  (B.D.  1884) 

Bishop  Boyd  Vincent,  Southern  Ohio,  (B.A.  1867) 

Oregon 
President  John  Wesley  Johnson,  State  University,  (B.A.  1862) 
President  Frank  Strong,  State  University,  (B.A.  1884) 

Pennsylvania 
President  Jeremiah  Atwater,  Dickinson  College,  (B.A.  1793) 

Provost  William  Heathcote  DeLancey,  University  of  Pennsylvania,  (B.A.  1817) 
Provost  Charles  Janeway  Stille,  University  of  Pennsylvania,  (B.A.  1839) 
President  Joel  Jones,  Girard  College,  (B.A.  1817) 
President  George  Wilson  McPhail,  Lafayette  College,  (B.A.  1835) 

[403] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

President  George  Washington  Atherton,  Pennsylvania  State  College,  (B.A. 

1863) 
President  Edmund  Simon  Lorenz,  Lebanon  Valley  College,  (B.D.  1883) 
President  William  Anthony  Granville,  Pennsylvania  College,  (Ph.B.  1893) 
Bishop  Cortlandt  Whitehead,  Pittsburgh,  (B.A.  1863) 

Philippine  Islands^ 
Governor  William  Howard  Taft  (B.A.  1878) 

Porto  Rico 

Governor  William  Henry  Hunt  (B.A.  1878) 
Bishop  James  Heartt  VanBuren  (B.A.  1873) 

Rhode  Island 

Governor  George  Peabody  Wetmore  (B.A.  1867) 

Chief  Justice  Joshua  Babcock  (B.A.  1724) 

Chief  Justice  Paul  Mumford  (B.A.  1754) 

Senator  Asher  Robbins  (B.A.  1782) 

Senator  Ray  Greene  (B.A.  1784) 

Senator  George  Peabody  Wetmore  (B.A.  1867) 

Bishop  Samuel  Seabury,  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut,  (B.A.  1748) 

Bishop  Thomas  Marsh  Clark  (B.A.  1831) 

South  Carolina 

Governor  James  Hopkins  Adams  (B.A.  1831) 

Governor  Daniel  Henry  Chamberlain  (B.A.  1862) 

Chief  Justice  Abraham  Nott  (B.A.  1787) 

Senator  John  Caldwell  Calhoun  (B.A.  1804) 

President  Augustus  Baldwin  Longstreet,  South  Carolina  College,  (B.A.  1813) 

Bishop  Christopher  Edwards  Gadsden  (B.A.  1804) 

South  Dakota 

Senator  Alfred  Beard  Kittredge  (B.A.  1882) 

President  William  Brush,  Dakota  University,  (B.A.  1850) 

Tennessee 
President  David  Austin  Sherman,  East  Tennessee  College,  (B.A.  1802) 

Texas 

President  Marshall  Richard  Gaines,  Tillotson  College,  (B.A.  1865) 
President  Oscar  Henry  Cooper,  Simmons  College,  (B.A.  1872) 
President  Samuel  Palmer  Brooks,  Baylor  University,  (B.A.  1894) 

1  Francis    Burton    Harrison    (B.A.    1895)    has    been    appointed    governor    since    the    last 
Quinquennial  Catalogue  was  published. 

[404] 


APPENDIX  I 

Vermont 
Governor  Israel  Smith  (B.A.  1781) 
Governor  Edward  Curtis  Smith  (B.A.  1875) 
Chief  Justice  Enoch  Woodbridge  (B.A.  1774) 
Chief  Justice  Nathaniel  Chipman  (B.A.  1777) 
Chief  Justice  Israel  Smith  (B.A.  1781) 
Senator  Stephen  Row  Bradley  (B.A.  1775) 
Senator  Nathaniel  Chipman  (B.A.  1777) 
Senator  Israel  Smith  (B.A.  1781) 
Senator  Horatio  Seymour  (B.A.  1797) 
Senator  Samuel  Shethar  Phelps  (B.A.  1811) 
President  Samuel  Austin,  State  University,  (B.A.  1783) 
President  Jeremiah  Atwater,  Middlebury  College,  (B.A.  1793) 
President  Henry  Davis,  Middlebury  College,  (B.A.  1796) 

Virginia 
Governor  Frederick  William  Holliday  (B.A.  1847) 
President  William  Maxwell,  Hampden-Sidney  College,  (B.A.  1802) 
President  Mary  Kendrick  Benedict,  Sweet  Briar  College,  (Ph.D.  1903) 

Washington 
President  Stephen  B.  L.  Penrose,  Whitman  College,  (B.D.  1890) 
Bishop  Frederic  William  Keator,  Olympia,  (B.A.  1880) 

West  Virginia 
Senator  Allen  Taylor  Caperton  (B.A.  1832) 

Wisconsin 
Chancellor  John  Hiram  Lathrop,  State  University,  (B.A.  1819) 
Chancellor  Henry  Barnard,  State  University,  (B.A.  1830) 
President  Aaron  Lucius  Chapin,  Beloit  College,  (B.A.  1837) 
President  Edward  Dwight  Eaton,  Beloit  College,  (B.D.  1875) 

Wyoming 

President  Elmer  Ellsworth  Smiley,  State  University,  (B.D.  1890) 

A  comparison  of  the  number  of  representative  public  offices  held 
by  graduates  from  the  founding  of  the  College  to  1860  and  to 
1910,  is  of  some  interest  as  showing  the  increase  of  the  University's 
national  influence  in  the  last  half  century.  The  figures  in  the  first 
column  are  taken  from  Dr.  Sprague's  Influence  of  Yale  College  on 

[405] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

American  Civilization,  reprinted  in  the  American  Journal  of 
Education,  Vol.  X,  for  1861.  The  second  column  has  been  compiled 
from  the  last  Quinquennial  Catalogue: 


1860 

1910- 

United  States  Senators 

41 

62 

Members  of  the  Cabinet 

10 

20 

Ambassadors  and  Ministers 

9 

28 

Governors  of  States 

27 

47 

Judges  of  State  Supreme  Courts 

106 

150 

University  and  College  Presidents 

42 

162 

Speaking  generally  the  figures  show  that  the  total  number  of 
representative  offices  of  importance  held  by  Yale  graduates  since  the 
foundation  of  the  institution  has  doubled  in  the  University's  fourth 
half-century — except  that  judges  and  senators  have  only  increased 
one-third,  while  college  presidents  (in  this  era  of  national  educational 
expansion)  have  about  quadrupled  in  number. 

Among  Yale's  representative  statesmen  and  jurists  in  the  Far 
East  may  be  mentioned: 

China — Yung  Wing  (B.A.  1854),  Chinese  Minister  to  the 
United  States  and  Chairman  of  the  Chinese  Educational  Commission; 
Liang  Tun  Yen  (B.A.  1882),  President  Board  of  Foreign  Affairs, 
and  Prime  Minister;  Chung  Hui  Wang  (M.L.  1903),  President  of 
the  Board  of  Justice;  Chin-tao  Chen  (Ph.D.  1906),  President  of 
the  Board  of  Finance;  Cheng-t'ing  Wang  (B.A.  1910) ,  Vice-Speaker 
of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

Japan — Viscount  Tajiri  Inajiro  (B.A.  1878),  President  of  the 
Board  of  Audit;  Kazuo  Hatoyama  (M.L.  1878),  President  of  the 
House  of  Representatives;  Viscount  Nagamoto  Okabe  (Class  of 
1882  S.) ,  Minister  of  the  Department  of  Justice. 

i^iam— Tokichi  Masao  (M.L.  1896,  D.C.L.  1897),  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

2  Since   1910  two  additional  graduates  have  been  elected  to  the  Senate:   I^e  Baron  Colt 
(B.A.  1868),  Rhode  Island,  and  Morris  Sheppard  (M.L.  1898),  Texas. 

[  406  ] 


APPENDIX  I 


INFLUENCE  THROUGH  NATIONAL  SOCIETIES 

The  national  position  of  the  University  in  the  field  of  scholarship 
and  of  science  may  be  seen  by  a  study  of  the  part  played  by  graduates 
in  the  leadership  of  the  most  representative  learned  societies.  The 
following  is  a  list  of  Yale  presidents  of  such  organizations : 


Class  of 
1799 
1807 
1808 
1820 
1832 
1842 
1842 
1846 
1848 
1862 
1853 

1854 

1854 
1856 
1858 

1858 
1858 

1860 
1860 
1861 


1861 
1861 
1862 

1863 
1864 
1866 
1866 


Eli  Ives,  American  Medical  Association 

Alexander  Hodgson  Stevens,  American  Medical  Association 

Jonathan  Knight,  American  Medical  Association 

Theodore  Dwight  Woolsey,  American  Oriental  Society 

Edward  Elbridge  Salisbury,  American  Oriental  Society 

James  Hadley,  American  Oriental  Society 

James  Hammond  Trumbull,  American  Philological  Association 

Frederick  John  Kingsbury,  American  Social  Science  Association 

Henry  Hitchcock,  American  Bar  Association 

Daniel  Coit  Oilman,  American  Oriental  Society,  Carnegie  Institute 

Andrew    Dickson    White,    American    Social    Science    Association, 

American  Historical  Association 
John  Chapin  Sanders,  American  Institute  of  Homeopathy 
Yung  Wing,  Chinese  Educational  Commission 
Lewis  Richard  Packard,  American  Philological  Association 
Daniel  Garrison  Brinton,  American  Association   for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Science,  American  Folk  Lore  Society 
William  Torrey  Harris,  National  Educational  Association 
Arthur    Mathewson,    American    Ophthalmological    and    Otological 

Societies 
Francis  Delafield,  American  Association  of  Physicians 
Othniel  Charles  Marsh,  National  Academy  of  Sciences 
Simeon     Eben     Baldwin,     American     Social     Science     Association, 
American   Historical   Association,   American   Political   Science 
Association,    International    Law    Association,    American    Bar 
Association 
James  Nevins  Hyde,  American  Dermatological  Association 
Tracy  Peck,  American  Philological  Association 
Frederick    Irving    Knight,    American    Laryngological    Association, 

American  Climatological  Association 
William  Graham  Sumner,  American  Sociological  Society 
Charles  Henry  Burnett,  American  Otological  Association 
Frederick  Newton  Judson,  American  Political  Science  Association 
Samuel  Benedict  St.  John,  American  Ophthalmological  Society 


[407] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 

1867         Matthew  Darbyshire  Mann,  American  Gynecological  Society 

1869  Bernadotte  Perrin,  American  Philological  Association 

1870  William  Henry  Welch,  American  Association  for  the  Advancement 

of  Science,  American  Medical  Association,  Rockefeller  Institute 
for  Medical  Research 

1871  Charles    Benjamin    Dudley,    American    Chemical    Society,    Inter- 

national Society  for  Testing  Materials 

1871  Charles    Rockwell    Lanman,   American   Oriental   Society,   American 

Philological  Association 

1872  David  Bryson  Delavan,  American  Laryngological  Association 
1872  Frederic  Shepard  Dennis,  American  Surgical  Association 

1874  Henry  Walcott  Farnam,  American  Statistical  Association,  American 

Association  for  Labor  Legislation,  American  Economic  Asso- 
ciation 

1876  Arthur  Twining  Hadley,  American  Economic  Association 

1877  Samuel  Augustus  Fisk,  American  Climatological  Association 

1878  Reynold  Webb  Wilcox,  American  Therapeutic  Society 

1882  Archibald  Ashley  Welch,  Actuarial  Society  of  America 

1883  Eliakim  Hastings  Moore,  American  Mathematical  Society 

1884  George  Hudson  Makuen,  American  Academy  of  Medicine 
1889  Gifford  Pinch ot,  National  Conservation  Association 

1891  Lafayette     Benedict     Mendel,     American     Society     of     Biological 

Chemists 
1852  S.     William  Henry  Brewer,  American  Association  for  the  Advancement 

of  Science 
1852  S.     George  Jarvis  Brush,  American  Association  for  the  Advancement 

of  Science 
1858  S.     George    Frederic    Barker,    American    Chemical    Society,    American 

Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science 
Arnold  Hague,  Geological  Society  of  America 
Arthur  VanHarlingen,  American  Dermatol ogical  Association 
David  Halsey  Wells,  Actuarial  Society  of  America 
Henry  Hun,  Association  of  American  Physicians 
Russell  Henry  Chittenden,  American  Society  of  Naturalists,  Society 

of  Biological  Chemists 
John  Hays  Hammond,  American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers 
William  Thompson  Sedgwick,  American  Society  of  Naturalists 
Henry  Ling  Taylor,  American  Orthopa?dic  Association 
Ethan  Allen  Andrews,  Society  of  Zoologists 
Edward  Bradford  Dench,  American  Otological  Society 
Andrew  Lincoln  Winton,  Association  of  Agricultural  Chemists 
William  John  Gies,  Society  of  Physiological  Chemistry 
Joseph   Hersey   Pratt,  American   Society   for  the  Advancement  of 

Medical  Research 

[408] 


1863  S. 

1864  S. 

1867  S. 

1874  S. 

1875  S. 

1876  S. 

1877  S. 

1877  S. 

1881  S. 

1883  S. 

1884  S. 

1894  S. 

1894  S. 

APPENDIX  I 


1877  B.D.     George    Burton    Adams,    American    Historical    Association    (B.A. 

Beloit  College) 
1883  B.D.     George     Stuart     FuUerton,     American     Psychological     Association 

(B.A.  University  of  Pennsylvania) 
1852  M.D.     Charles  Augustus  Lindsley,  American  Medical  Society  (B.A.  Trinity 

College) 
1880  M.D.     Samuel    Wendell    Williston,    Society    of    Vertebrate    Paleontology 

(B.S.  Kansas  Agricultural  College) 
1890  M. A.     George    Malcolm    Stratton,    American    Psychological    Association, 

(B.A.  University  of  California) 
1867  Ph.D.     William    North    Rice,    American    Society    of     Naturalists     (B.A. 

Wesleyan  University) 
1903  Ph.D.     Wilton    Everett    Britton,    Association    of    Economic    Entomology 

(B.S.  New  Hampshire  College  of  Agriculture) 

The  following  Yale  graduates  have  been  members  of  the 
National  Academy  of  Sciences,  the  most  representative  organization 
of  scientific  men  in  the  country.  The  list  does  not  include  non- 
graduates  : 

Jared  Potter  Kirtland 
William  Henry  Brewer 
George  Jarvis  Brush 
George  Frederic  Barker 
Clarence  King 
Arnold  Hague 
Sidney  Irving  Smith 
Charles    Sheldon    Hastings 
Theophil  Mitchell  Prudden 
Russell  Henry  Chittenden 
Horace  Lemuel  Wells 
Samuel  Lewis  Penfield 
Edmund  Beecher  Wilson 
Louis  Valentine  Pirsson 
Bertram  Borden  Boltwood 
Charles    Emerson    Beecher 
(B.S.     University     of 
Micliigan) 
Henry  Andrews   Bumstead 
(B.A.      Johns      Hopkins 
University) 


1796 

Benjamin  Silliman 

1815  M. 

1812 

Theodore  Strong 

1852  S. 

1823 

William   Starling   Sullivant 

1852  S. 

1828 

Frederick  A.  P.  Barnard 

1858  S. 

1830 

Elias  Loomis 

1862  S. 

1833 

James  Dwight  Dana 

1863  S. 

1837 

Benjamin  Silliman,  Jr. 

1867  S. 

1839 

Josiah  Dwight  Whitney 

1870  S. 

1840 

William  Chauvenet 

1872  S. 

1842 

James  Hadley 

1875  S. 

1842 

James  Hammond  Trumbull 

1877  S. 

1843 

Joseph   Stillman   Hubbard 

1877  S. 

1850 

Hubert  Anson  Newton 

1878  S. 

1858 

Josiah  Willard  Gibbs 

1882  S. 

1859 

Arthur  Williams  Wright 

1892  S. 

1860 

Clarence   Edward   Dutton 

1889  Ph.D 

1860 

Othniel  Charles  Marsh 

1870 

Edward  Salisbury  Dana 

1870 

William  Henry  Welch 

1897  Ph.D 

1883 

Eliakim  Hastings  Moore 

1891 

Lafayette  Benedict  Mendel 

[409  ] 


APPENDIX  II 

SUMMARY  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN  BY  CLASSES 

In  the  following  table  capitals  indicate  that  a  graduate's 
biography  is  given  in  full,  while  ordinary  type  is  used  for  names 
which  make  up  the  supplementary  lists.  The  former  may  be  consulted 
for  information  regarding  student  life  at  any  period.  The  classes  of 
1706, 1746, 1778,  1827, 1837,  1853,  and  1858  are  specially  conspicuous 
for  their  contribution  of  eminent  men.  These  are  scattered  at 
irregular  intervals  throughout  the  history  of  the  College,  every  decade 
being  represented  by  at  least  one  name  of  real  significance.  The 
most  productive  single  period  was  the  early  part  of  President  Clap's 
vigorous  administration.  During  his  first  eight  years,  eight  men 
were  graduated  whose  biographies  were  believed  to  be  worthy  of 
record  in  these  volumes.  One  out  of  every  eighteen  thus  attained 
great  distinction,  while  the  proportion  in  the  whole  history  of  the 
institution  is  only  one  for  one  hundred  and  thirty-one.^ 


1706  JONATHAN  DICKINSON  1738 

1706  JARED  ELIOT  1741 

1714  SAMUEL  JOHNSON  1741 

1719  William  Smith  1742 

1720  JONATHAN  EDWARDS  *1743 
1729  John  Sergeant  1744 
1733  ELEAZAR  WHEELOCK  1745 
1735  Joseph  Bellamy  1746 
1735  Aaron  Burr  1746 

1737  Philip  Livingston  1746 

1738  PHINEAS  LYMAN  1747 


DAVID  WOOSTER 
SAMUEL  HOPKINS 
WILLIAM  LIVINGSTON 
Joseph  Hawley 
DAVID  BRAINERD2 
WILLIAM  S.  JOHNSON 
WILLIAM  SMITH 
Lewis  Morris 
EZRA  STILES 
PELATIAH  WEBSTER 
OLIVER  WOLCOTT 


1  These  facts  are  based  on  75  names  being  chosen  for  major  biographies  out  of  10,348 
deceased  alumni,  according  to  1910  Quinquennial  Catalogue.  The  four  remaining  sketches 
(making  total  of  79)  are  of  non-graduates. 

2  In  this  list  an  asterisk  represents  a  non-graduate. 


[410] 


APPENDIX  II 


1747  Lyman  Hall  1804 

1748  SAMUEL  SEABURY  1805 

1757  Edmund  Fanning  *1806 

1758  SILAS  DEANE  1806 

1759  Benjamin  Trumbull  1807 
1765  MANASSEH   CUTLER  1807 

1765  Theodore  Sedgwick  1808 

1766  Jared  Ingersoll  1809 

1767  Nathaniel  Emmons  1810 
1767  JOHN  TRUMBULL  1811 
1769  TIMOTHY  DWIGHT  1811 

1771  DAVID  HUMPHREYS  1812 

1772  ABRAHAM  BALDWIN  1813 

1772  William  Hull  1813 

1773  NATHAN  HALE  1813 
1773  Benjamin  Tallmadge  1815 
1773  John  Palsgrave  Wyllys  1815 
1775  DAVID  BUSHNELL  1815 

1777  Nathaniel  Chipman  1816 

1778  JOEL  BARLOW  1817 
1778  Zephaniah  Swift  1819 
1778  NOAH  WEBSTER  1820 
1778  OLIVER  WOLCOTT  1820 

1780  Mason  Fitch  Cogswell  1820 

1781  JAMES  KENT  1821 
1783  Abiel  Holmes  1823 
1783  Jedidiah  Morse  *1825- 
1785  Return  Jonathan  Meigs  1827 
1788  JEREMIAH  MASON  1827 

1790  Edward  Dorr  Griffin  1827 

1791  JAMES  GOULD  1827 

1791  PETER  BUELL  PORTER  1827 

1792  Roger  Minott  Sherman  1828 
1792  ELI  WHITNEY  *1829 

1795  Jeremiah  Day  1830 

1796  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN  1830 

1797  LYMAN  BEECHER  1830 
1799  James  Luce  Kingsley  1831 
1799  MOSES  STUART  1831 
1802  Jeremiah  Evarts  1832 
1802  Junius  Smith  1832 
1804  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  1832 
1804  John  Pierpont  1833 


Bennet  Tyler 

THOMAS  H.  GALLAUDET 
J.  FENIMORE  COOPER 
James  Gadsden 
Alexander  H.  Stevens 
NATHANIEL  W.  TAYLOR 
James  Abraham  Hillhouse 
Josiah  Willard  Gibbs 
SAMUEL  F.  B.  MORSE 
Roger  Sherman  Baldwin 
JOSEPH  E.  WORCESTER 
John  Davis 
Alexander  M.  Fisher 
Augustus  B.  Longstreet 
Denison  Olmsted 
JOHN  M.  CLAYTON 
Jared  Potter  Kirtland 
JAMES  G.  PERCIVAL 
ELI  WHITNEY  BLAKE 
William  H.  DeLancey 
John  Hiram  Lathrop 
LEONARD  BACON 
Alexander  Catlin  Twining 
THEODORE  WOOLSEY 
Eli  Smith 

William  S.  Sullivant 
-26  Edward  Hitchcock 
William  Adams 
Theron  Baldwin 
HORACE  BUSHNELL 
Henry  Durant 
NATHANIEL  P.  WILLIS 
F.  A.  P.  BARNARD 
JUDAH  P.  BENJAMIN 
HENRY  BARNARD 
ELIAS  LOOMIS 
Ray  Palmer 
PETER  PARKER 
NOAH  PORTER 
Samuel  Robbins  Brown 
CASSIUS  M.  CLAY 
Edward  Elbridge  Salisbury 
JAMES  D.  DANA 


[411] 


MEMORIALS  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN 


1833  Alphonso  Taft  1849 

1835  Thomas  A.  Thacher  1849 

1836  Sylvester  Judd  1850 

1837  WILLIx\M  M.  EVARTS  1851 
1837  SAMUEL  J.  TILDEN  1852 
1837  MORRISON  R.  WAITE  1852 
1839  Charles  Astor  Bristed  1853 
1839  Henry  L.  Dawes  1853 
1839  Ebenezer  Porter  Mason  *1851- 
1839  Charles  J.  Stille  1853 
1839  Francis  Wharton  1854 

1839  JOSIAH  D.  WHITNEY  1855 

1840  WILLIAM   CHAUVENET  1856 

1841  DONALD  G.  MITCHELL  1857 

1842  JAMES  HADLEY  1858 

1842  J.  HAMMOND  TRUMBULL  1858 
*1840-43  John  Pitkin  Norton  1858 

1843  Henry  Stevens  1859 
*1 842-43,  45-46  Frederick  Law  Olmsted  1860 
*1845-46  Thomas  Sterry  Hunt  1861 

1846  Charles  Loring  Brace  1862 

1846  Joseph  E.  Brown  1863 

1846  RICHARD  TAYLOR  1875 

1847  Benjamin  Gratz   Brown  1883 

1848  THEODORE  WINTHROP  1900 


Francis  Miles  Finch 
William  F.  Poole 
HUBERT  A.  NEWTON 
Theodore  T.  Munger 
William  Henry  Brewer 
DANIEL  C.  OILMAN 
HIRAM  BINGHAM 
Randall  Lee  Gibson 
-53  SAMUEL  W.  JOHNSON 
EDMUND  C.  STEDMAN 
James  Clay  Rice 
Elisha  Mulford 
David  J.  Brewer 
Moses  Coit  Tyler 
DANIEL  G.  BRINTON 
JOSIAH  WILLARD  GIBBS 
WILLIAM  T.  HARRIS 
Eugene  Schuyler 
OTHNIEL  C.  MARSH 
EDWARD  ROWLAND  SILL 
CLARENCE  KING 
WILLIAM  G.  SUMNER 
WILLIAM  R.  HARPER 
Edward  G.  Bourne 
Frederic  Remington 


[412] 


APPENDIX  III 

GRAVES  OF  EMINENT  YALE  MEN  IN  THE 
NEW  HAVEN  CEMETERY 

Probably  no  American  burial  ground  contains  more  graves  of 
eminent  men  than  the  Grove  Street  Cemeterj^,  which  was  established 
in  1796,  and  was  the  first  large  place  of  burial  in  America  to  be 
divided  into  family  lots.  Most  of  the  ancient  headstones  from  the 
graveyard  formerly  located  on  the  Green  behind  Center  Church  were 
removed  here  in  1821.  Over  four  hundred  of  these,  many  of  them 
very  quaint  and  dating  back  to  the  seventeenth  century,  have  been 
placed  in  alphabetical  order  along  the  inner  side  of  the  boundary  wall 
in  the  extreme  northwest  corner  of  the  property.  Every  visitor  to 
New  Haven  and  every  student  at  the  University  will  find  the 
cemetery  a  place  of  great  interest. 

The  accompanying  plan  shows  the  location  of  the  graves  of 
thirty-six  of  the  most  eminent  Yale  men — over  one-fifth  of  the  entire 
number  commemorated  by  biographies  in  these  volumes.  In  addition, 
certain  numbers  are  given  in  brackets  of  a  few  oiher  persons  of  note, 
especially  officers  and  benefactors  of  the  University.  The  numbers 
are  arranged  consecutivelj'-  with  a  view  to  the  walk  suggested  by  the 
arrows  on  the  plan,  including  as  it  does  the  graves  with  the  most 
important  historical  associations.  "Markers"  indicating  that  the 
deceased  took  part  in  the  American  Revolution  will  be  found  in  front 
of  many  of  them.  Several  score  of  the  old  tombstones  were  left  in 
their  original  positions  when  the  Center  Church  was  built  in  1813, 
and  may  still  be  seen  in  the  crypt.  Among  them  is  the  grave  of  Jared 
Ingersoll  (B.A.  1742),  Judge  of  the  Vice  Admiralty  Court  and 
Stamp  Act  Agent.    He  was  the  father  of  Jar^d  Ingersoll  (q.v.). 

[413] 


GRAVES  OF  EMINENT  MEN  IN  GROVE  STREET  CEM: 


*[1] 

[Jehudi  Ashmunl 

[16] 

[2] 

[George  E.  Day] 

[17] 

[3] 

[Amos  Beebe  Eaton] 

[18] 

4 

Benjamin  Silliman,  Sr.  (q.v.) 

[19] 

5 

James  Dwight  Dana  (q.v.) 

20 

6 

Jedidiah  Mor.se  (q.v.) 

21 

7 

David  Humphreys  (q.v.) 

22 

8 

Theodore  Winthrop  (q.v.) 

23 

9 

Noah  Porter  (q.v.) 

[24] 

10 

Lyman  Beecher  (q.v.) 

25 

11 

Nathaniel  \V.  Taylor  (q.v.) 

[26] 

12 

Eli  Whitney  (q.v.) 

27 

13 

Noah  Webster  (q.v.) 

[28] 

[14] 

[Eli  Ives] 

29 

15 

Denison  Olmsted  (q.v.) 

[Jonathan  Knight] 
[George  J.  Brush] 
[Yale  University  Lots] 
[Francis  Wayland] 
John  Pitkin  Norton  (q.v.) 
Hubert  Anson  Newton  (q.v.) 
Edward  G.  Bourne  (q.v.) 
Samuel  W.  Johnson  (q.v.) 
[Charles  Goodyear] 
Jeremiah  Evarts  (q.v.) 
[Thomas  Day  Seymour] 
Theodore  Dwight  Woolsey  (q.v.) 
[Joseph  Earl  Sheffield] 
Josiah  Willard  Gibbs.  Sr.  (q.v.) 


GRAVES  OF  EMINENT  MEN  IN  GROVE  STRE 


*Dehudi  Ashmun']  1 
Leonard  Bacon^  (q.v.)  30a 
Roger  Sherman  Baldwin^  (q.v.)  51 
Lyman  Beecher  (q.v.)  10 
[Hiram  Bingham,  Sr."*]  69 
EH  Whitney  Blake  (q.v.)  40 
Edward  G.  Bourne'  (q.v.)  22 
William  H.  Brewer  (q.v.)  63 
[George  J.  Bru.sh^]  17 
[Thomas  Clap']  57 
[David  Daggett']  50 
[NaphtaU  Daggett"]  49 
James  Dwight  Dana  (q.v.)  5 
[George  E.  Day'"]  2 


Jeremiah  Day  (q.v.)  56 
[Amos  Doolittle-*] 
Timothy  Dwight  (q.v.)  46 
[Amos  Beebe  Eaton"]  3 
[Theophilus  Eaton'-]  43 
Jeremiah  Evarts'^  (q.v.)  25 
[Henry  Farnam'*]  66 
[George  P.  Fisher*  =]  61 
[Andrew  Hull  Foote'®]  48 
Josiah  Willard  Gibbs,  Sr.  (q.v.)  29 
Josiah  Willard  Gibbs,  Jr.  (q.v.)  30 
[Chauncey  A.  Goodrich"]  67 
[Charles  Goodyear'^]  24 
James  Hadley  (q.v.)  33 


*Brackets  indicate  a  man  not  specially  commemorated  in  Mrmotials. 

'An  organizer  of  the  Colony  of  Liberia  and  first  Colonial  Agent. 

^The  grave  of  Delia  Bacon,  the  originator  of  the  Baconian  theory 
as  applied  to  the  writings  of  Shakespeare,  adjoins  that  of  her  brother, 
Leonard  Bacon. 

^The  grave  of  his  son,  Simeon  Baldwin,  B.A.  1781,  M.  C.  and  Judge 
of  the  Connecticut  Supreme  Court,  adjoins  that  of  Roger  Sherman 
Baldwin. 

*Pioneer  missionary  to  Hawaii,  and  father  of  Hiram  Bingham  (q.v.). 

°A  small  evergreen  marks  Professor  Bourne's  grave. 

^Ph.B.  1852.    First  Director  of  the  Sheffield  Scientific  .School. 

'President  of  Yale  College,  1740-1766. 

*B.A.  1783.    Chief  Justice  of  the  Connecticut  Supreme  Court. 

'B.A.  1748.    President  of  Yale  College  (pro  tempore),  1766-1777. 
'"B.A.  1833.    Professor  of  Hebrew  and  Biblical  Theology. 
''Brigadier  and  Commissary-General,  U.  S.  Army  in  Civil  War. 
'''First  Governor  of  the  New  Haven  Colony  (d.  1658).    He  was  the 
stepfather  of  David  Yale,  father  of  Elihu  Yale. 


'^There  is  no  j 
'■* Prominent  > 
"'Church  hist( 
'"Admiral  in  t 
"B.A.  1810.     1 

Christian  force  i 
"Inventor  of  1 
'"Professor  of 
'"B.A.  1773. 

spirited  citizen. 
"B.A.  1840.  I 
"B.A.  1799.  I 
*^B.A.  1808.  1 
=''B  A.  1826.  I 
""Adjoining  t 
'"Noted  earh 
"B.A.  1797.     I 


STH£E  T 


o 


GRAVES  OF  EMINENT  MEN  IN  GROVE  STREET  CEMETERY,  NEW  HAVEN,  ARRANGED  IN  ORDER  GIVEN  ON  ACCOMPANYING  PLAN 


•(11  Uthud 
12J  iGeor, 
[Jl    lAmos 


(16) 

[Jonathan  Knight] 

[17] 

iGeorgeJ.  Brush] 

(18] 

[Yale  University  Lots] 

[19] 

(Francis  Waytaod] 

John  Pitkin  Norton  (q.v.) 

21 

Hubert  Anson  Newton  (q. 

22 

Edward  G.  Bourne  (q.v.) 

[24] 

[Charles  Goodyear! 

Jeremiah  Evarts  (q.v.) 

[36] 

[Thomas  Day  Seymour] 

Theodore  Dwight  Woolsev 

[281 

[Joseph  Earl  Sheffield] 

(31)  [WilUamA.Lam 
[32]  [James  M.  Hoppi 
33     James  Hadley(q. 


(391     [Alfred  H.  Tern-] 
[42]     [William  DwiRht  \\ 


46  Timothy  Dwight  (q. 

[47]  [Augustus  R.  Street 

[48]  [Andrew  Hull  Foote 

[49]  (NapbtaU  Daggett] 

[50]  [David  Daggett] 


[52]     Uai 


[S7]  [Thomas  Clap] 

M  David  Wooster  ( 

[59]  [Amos  Doolittlel 

[60]  [Nathan  Smith.  : 

[61]  [George  P.  Fish* 

[62]  [Benjamin  SiUin: 


(65]     [WilUamH.  Russell] 

[66]     [Henry  Famam] 

(67]    [Chauncey  A.  Goodrich] 


GRAVES  OF  EMINENT  MEN  IN  GROVE  STREET  CEMETERY,  NEW  HAVEN.  ARRANGED  IN  ALPHABETICAL  ORDER 


Timothy  Dwight  ( 


rge  P.  Fisher"]  6 
li  Willard  Gibbs,  i 


B  lirst-named  conlainB 


\NGED  IN  ORDER  GIVEN  ON  ACCOMPANYING  PLAN 


[43]  [Theophilus  Eaton]  [57] 

[44]  [Yale  University  Lots]  58 

45  Ezra  Stiles  (q.vJ  [59] 

46  Timothy  Dwight  (q.v.)  [60] 
[47]  [Augustus  R.  Street]  [61] 
[48]  [Andrew  Hull  Foote]  [62] 
[49]  [Naphtali  Daggett]  63 
[50]  [David  Daggett]  64 

51  Roger  Sherman  Baldwin  (q.v.)  [65] 

[52]  Dames  Hillhouse]  [66] 

53  James  Abraham  Hillhouse  (q.v.)  [67] 

[54]  [Roger  Sherman]  68 

55  Thomas  A.  Thacher  (q.v.)  [69] 

56  Jeremiah  Day  (q.v.)  [70] 


[Thomas  Clap] 
David  Wooster  (q.v.) 
[Amos  Doolittlel 
[Nathan  Smith,  Senator] 
[George  P.  Fisher] 
[Benjamin  SilUman,  Jr.] 
William  H.  Brewer  (q.v.) 
James  L.  King.sley  (q.v.) 
[William  H.  Russell] 
[Henry  Farnam] 
[Chauncey  A.  Goodrich] 
Theodore  T.  Munger  (q.v.) 
[Hiram  Bingham,  Sr.] 
[Nathan  Smith,  Surgeon] 


N,  ARRANGED  IN  ALPHABETICAL  ORDER 


[James  Murdock"']  38 
Hubert  Anson  Newton  (q.v.)  21 
John  Pitkin  Norton  (q  v.)  20 
Denison  Olmsted  (q.v.)  15 
Noah  Porter  (q.v.)  9 
[William  H.  Russell"']  65 
Edward  E.  Salisbury  (q.v.)  41 
[Thomas  Day  Seymour^"]  26 
[Joseph  Earl  Sheffield^"]  28 
[Roger  Sherman^']  54 
Benjamin  Silliman,  Sr.  (q.v.)  4 
[Benjamin  Silliman,  Jr.^"]  62 
[Nathan  Smith,  Senator]  60 
[Nathan  Smith,  Surgeon^^]  70 


Ezra  Stiles  (q.v.)  45 

[Augustus  R.  Street^^]  47 

Nathaniel  W.  Taylor  (q.v.)  11 

[Alfred  H.  Terry"]  39 

Thomas  A.  Thacher  (q.v.)  55 

Alexander  C.  T^vining  (q.v.)  34 

[Francis  Wayland^"]  19 

Noah  Webster  (q.v.)  13 

Eli  Whitney  (q.v.)  12 

[WilUam  Dwight  Whitney"]  42 

Theodore  Winthrop  (q.v.)  8 

Theodore  Dwight  Woolsey  (q.v.)  27 

David  Wooster  (q.v.)  58 

[Yale  University  Lots^']  18,  44 


the  College. 


rge.    A  strong 


re.    and  public- 


ature. 

.  Morse  (q.v.) 


'''B.A.  1833.  As  Principal  of  '"The  Collegiate  and  Commercial  Insti- 
tute" on  Wooster  Square,  General  Russell  educated  about  four  thou- 
sand young  men,  of  whom  some  three  hundred  became  Union  officers. 

^"Professor  of  the  Greek  Language  and  Literature. 

'"New  Haven  merchant  and  founder  of  the  Sheffield  Scientific 
School. 

^'Treasurer  of  the  College.  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence.   Statesman. 

^"B.A.  1837.    Professor  of  Chemistry. 

'^Professor  of  Theory  and  Practise  of  Physic,  Surgery  and  Obstetrics. 

'*B.A.  1812.    Founder  of  the  School  of  the  Fine  Arts. 

'^General  in  the  Union  Army.  For  a  short  time  a  student  in  the 
Law  School. 

'•^Dean  of  the  Law  School. 

"Professor  of  Sanskrit  Language  and  Literature,  and  Comparative 
Philology. 

^'These  lots  belong  to  the  University.  The  first-named  contains 
many  interesting  graves. 


INDEX  AND   BIBLIOGRAPHY 


INDEX   AND   BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Abbeville,  S.  C,  II,  196. 

Abbot,  Ezra,  I,  326  n,  327  n;  H.  L.,  II,  100, 
101,  Beginning  of  Modern  Submarine 
Warfare,  II,  96  n,  100  n,  101. 

Aberdeen,  Scotland,  I,  48. 

Academic  ceremony,  I,  129;  Costume,  I,  305; 
Etiquette,  I,  305  (see  also  under  College). 

Actuarial  Society  of  America,  II,  408. 

Adam,  Alexander,  Latin  Grammar,  I,  337. 

Adams,  Alicia,  II,  331;  Andrew,  II,  358; 
G.  B.,  II,  409;  Henry,  History  of  the 
U.  S.  (1800-1817),  II,  333n.  ff;  J.  H.,  II, 
404;  John  (Andover),  I,  226,  227;  John 
(President),  I,  120,  122,  II,  140,  170,  194, 
201  n,  334,  336,  389;  John,  Autobiography, 
II,  304;  Adams,  John  Quincif,  Memoirs  of, 
II,  335  n;  Samuel,  II,  139,  167,  356; 
William,  I,  78,  105,  II,  402,  411;  Discourse 
on  Life  of  Stuart,  I,  60  n. 

Addison,  The  American,  I,  138,  365. 

Adelphi  College,  II,  403. 

Admission  (see  Examinations). 

Advice  to  students,  I,  45,  129,  219,  303,  315- 
6,  II,  160,  192,  221,  322. 

^neid,  I,  337. 

Aerodynamics,  II,  120  S. 

^schylus,  I,  241. 

Africa,  Slaves  liberated  to,  I,  33. 

Agassiz,  Louis,  II,  41. 

"Age  of  Homespun,"  II,  317. 

Agricultural  Chemistry,  II,  2,  3,  58,  88; 
Experiment  Stations,  I,  190,  II,  4,  55  ff, 
379;  Society  of  Conn.,  II,  58,  59. 

Agriculture,  Building,  Washington,  II,  88; 
Scientific,  I,  189,  II,  1,  10,  55  ff,  313,  380; 
State  Board  of,  II,  59,  61,  87. 

Alabama  Claims,  II,  272;  Representative 
Yale  men,  II,  396;  University  of,  I,  251. 

Alaska,  Purchase  of,  II,  342;  Representative 
Yale  men,  II,  396. 

Albany,  N.  Y.,  I,  136,  184,  II,  57,  135,  357, 
362;  Albany  Evening  Journal,  II,  211. 

Alexander,  Eben,  II,  130;  Walter,  I,  184; 
W.  DeW.,  II,  398. 


Alfred  University,  II,  403. 

Algebra,  Day's,  I,  288. 

Alger,  Miss,' I,  355. 

Algiers,  I,  132. 

Algonkin  languages,  I,  347. 

Allen,  Alexander  V.  G.,  I,  27;  Ethan,  II, 
167;  F.  I.,  II,  92;  Ira,  II,  191. 

Allibone,  S.  A.,  Dictionary  of  Authors,  I, 
41  n,  122  n,  150  n. 

Ailing,  Enos,  II,  156. 

Allston,  Washington,  II,  115. 

Alstead,  Geometry,  I,  21. 

Alumni,  Association  of  the,  II,  23-4;  Com- 
mittee of  the,  I,  272;  Fund,  II,  241  n; 
Hall,  I,  xxi,  242,  II,  309;  Alumni  Hymn, 

I,  151;  influence  in  Western  states,  I,  189; 
organizations,  I,  190;  representation  on 
governing  body  (see  Yale  Corporation, 
Alumni)  ;  Society  of  the,  I,  xxi,  250,  272. 

Alvey,  Judge,  I,  270  n. 

American,  Aboriginal  literature,  I,  353; 
Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  Proceed- 
ings of,  I,  326  n,  327,  327  n,  II,  182; 
Academy  of  Boston,  II,  69;  Academy  of 
Medicine,  II,  408;  American  Agricultur- 
ist, II,  4n;  American  Antiquarian  Society, 
Proceedings  of,  I,  225  n;  Association  for 
Advancement     of    Science,     I,    252,    354, 

II,  35,  50,  74,  407,  408;  Association  of 
Geologists,  II,  87;  Association  for  Labor 
Legislation,  II,  408;  Association  of 
Physicians,  II,  407;  Bar  Association, 
II,  407;  Bible  Society,  I,  270;  American 
Chemical  Journal,  II,  60;  Chemical 
Society,  II,  408;  Climatological  Associa- 
tion, II,  407,  408;  Congregational  Union, 
I,  184;  Dermatological  Association,  II, 
407,  408;  Economic  Association,  II,  408; 
Education  Society,  I,  91,  289;  Folk  Lore 
Society,  I,  354,  II,  407;  Gynecological 
Society,  II,  408;  Historical  Association, 
I,  294,  II,  180,  204,  407,  409;  American 
Historical  Association,  Report  of,  I, 
212  n,  II,  179  n,  180  n;  American  Histori- 


1  The  large  amount  of  material  included  has  made  much  concentration  of  statement  neces- 
sary. Subdivisions  will  be  found  under  the  same  word,  e.g.  Adams,  Alicia;  Andrew,  etc. 
Where  there  is  more  than  one  reference  to  a  name  the  one  covering  the  most  pages  may  be 
consulted  for  the  biographical  sketch,  e.g.  Gilman,  D.  C,  I,  264-272.  In  cases  where  college 
institutions,  customs,  etc.,  are  not  foimd  indexed  under  a  separate  main  title,  consult  subtitles 
under  College  or  Yale.  The  names  of  all  works  quoted  from  in  the  text  are  given,  but  no 
attempt  has  been  made  to  include  books  merely  referred  to  casually.  References  to  I,  369-371 
and  II,  417-419  are  to  the  facsimiles  of  signatures  which  appear  only  in  the  Subscribers' 
Edition. 


[423] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


cnl  Magazine,  I,  127  n,  II,  304  n.  ff,  319  n; 
Home  Missionary  Society,  I,  291 ;  Insti- 
tute, I,  252;  Institute  of  Homeopathy,  II, 
407;  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers,  II, 
82,  408;  International  College,  II,  400; 
American  Journal  of  Education,  I,  190, 
251  n,  252,  254,  258,  258  n,  259,  II,  129  n, 
406;  American  Journal  of  Science,  I, 
XX,  151,  190,  -252,  339,  345,  II,  1,  2,  5,  14, 
21,  22,  28,  31,  34,  36,  60,  72,  87,  89,  122, 
200;  American  Journal  of  Theology,  I, 
285;  Laryngological  Association,  II,  407, 
408;  Library  Association,  I,  294;  Ameri- 
can Library  of  Schools  and  Education,  I, 
260;  Mathematical  Society,  II,  408;  Medi- 
cal Association,  II,  7,  7"n,  83,  407,  408; 
American  Medical  Biography,  II,  9  n; 
Medical  Society,  II,  409;  American  Men 
of  Science,  II,  4n;  Metrological  Society, 
II,  50;  Mining  Co.,  I,  148;  Ophthalmologi- 
cal  Society,  II,  407;  Oriental  Society,  I, 
270,  297,  339,  366,  II,  407,  408;  Ortho- 
paedic Association,  II,  408;  Otological 
Society,  II,  407,  408;  Philological  Asso- 
ciation, I,  339,  346,  II,  407,  408;  Philo- 
sophical Society,  I,  354,  II,  27,  101,  182; 
American  Poems,  I,  127  n,  131  n,  172  n, 
218  n,  221  n;  Political  Science  Association, 
II,  407;  Psychological  Association,  II, 
409;  Social  Science  Association,  II,  407; 
Society  for  the  Adyancement  of  Medical 
Research,  II,  408;  Society  of  Biological 
Chemists,  II,  408;  Society  of  Natural- 
ists, II,  408,  409;  Sociological  Society, 
I,  362,  II,  407;  American  Spelling  Book, 
I,  317,  318;  Statistical  Association,  II, 
408;  Surgical  Association,  II,  408;  Thera- 
peutic Society,  II,  408. 

Americana,  I,  367. 

Ames,  William,  Cases  of  Conscience,  I,  193, 
197,  207;  Medulla,  I,  128,  197,  207; 
Theological  Theses,  I,  193. 

Amherst  College,  I,  88,  113  n,  234,  II,  35, 
38  n,  86,  87,  400. 

"Amistad  Captiyes,"  II,  283. 

Amusements,  I,  51,  52. 

Analytical  Laboratory,  II,  2,  4,  56,  58,  88. 

Anarchiad,  I,  111  n. 

Anderson,  Robert,  II,  337. 

Andover  Press,  I,  61;  Theological  Seminary, 
I,  18  n,  60,  61,  63,  66,  71,  87,  103,  230, 
274,  275,  287,  323,  365,  II,  26,  37,  258. 

Andre,  John,  II,  359. 

Andreen,  G.  A.,  II,  399. 

Andrew,  Samuel,  I,  xix,  II,  12. 

Andrews,  E.  A.,  I,  69,  II,  293  n;  E.  A. 
(grandson),  II,  408;  W.  W.,  Noah  Por- 
ter, I,  329  n,  330  n. 

Anglo-Saxon  Domination,  II,  287,  298. 

Annapolis,  II,  43,  45,  287,  385. 

Ansonia,  Conn.,  II,  308. 


Anthology,  American,  E.  C.  Stedman,  I, 
113  n,  172;  Anthologies,  I,  112,  172. 

Anthropology,  I,  351  ff ;  International  Con- 
gress of,  I,  354. 

Anti-Masonic  Presidential  ticket,  I,  63. 

Anti-Slavery  Leaders,  II,  132  n. 

Apaiang,   I,  99,   100. 

Appleton,  American  Biography,  I,  33  n, 
72  n,  105  n,  112,  142  n,  150  n,  160  n,  208  n, 
257  n,  291  n,  309  n,  318  n,  350  n,  352  n, 
II,  10  n,  11  n,  45  n,  73  n,  85  n,  114  n,  116  n, 
117  n,  162  n,  177  n,  202  n.  ff,  224  n,  304  n, 
319  n,  323  n,  352  n. 

Applied  Chemistry,  II,  2. 

Arabic  Scriptures,  I,  16,  104,  105. 

Aramaic,  I,  282. 

Aristotle,  I,  165,  II,  384. 

Arizona,  University  of,  II,  89. 

Arkansas,  Industrial  University,  II,  396; 
Representative  Yale  men,  II,  396. 

Arkwright,  Richard,  II,  110. 

Armenian  Scriptures,  I,  62. 

Armeno-Turkish  Scriptures,  I,  62. 

Arminianism,  I,  25. 

Armstrong,  Secretary,  II,  108. 

Arnold,  Benedict,  II,  237;  Thomas,  I,  9. 

Art  of  Thinking,  I,  21. 

Art  School,  I,  123,  164,  165,  166,  190,  242, 
310,  II,  115,  127,  127  n,  203,  274,  312,  358, 
377. 

Artists,   II,  93-4,   112-9,   126-8. 

Ashley,  Israel,  II,  289  n;  John,  II,  288. 

Ashmun,  Jehudi,  II,  416. 

Aspinwall,  \V.  H.,  II,  355. 

Association  of  the  Alumni,  II,  24;  of  Agri- 
cultural Chemists,  II,  408;  of  American 
Physicians,  II,  408;  of  Economic  Entomol- 
ogy, II,  409;  with  men  at  Yale,  Influence 
of,  II,  369-370  (see  also  associations  in- 
dexed under  American). 

Astronomy,  I,  298  (see  Chauvenet,  A.  M. 
Fisher,  Loomis,  E.  P.  Mason,  Newton, 
D.  Olmsted). 

Atalanta  Boat  Club,  I,  265. 

Atheme  Oxonienses,  I,  In,  10. 

Athenseum,  I,  xix,  II,  14,  27,  85. 

Atherton,  G.  W.,  II,  404. 

Athletic  sports,  I,  51,  77,  97. 

Atkinson  and  Wilson,  Trigonometry,  I,  128. 

Atlanta   University,   II,  398. 

Atlantic  Christian'College,  II,  403;  Atlantic 
Monthly,  I,  164,  181,  185,  II,  127,  266, 
352. 

Atwater,  E.  E.,  History  of  Neiv  Haven, 
II,  305  n;  Isaac,  IL  231  n,  400;  Jeremiah, 
I,  57,  208,  II,  403,  405;  L.  H.,  I,  330. 

Auburn  Theological  Seminary,  I,  103. 

Augur,  Hezekiah,  11,  128  n. 

Augustana  College,  II,  399. 

Austen,  Mrs.  Jessica  (Tyler),  Moses  Coit 
Tyler,  I,  361  n,  367  n. 


[  424  ] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Austin,  Samuel,  II,  405. 
Austria,  Emperor  of,  II,  117. 
Authors,  I,  109-186. 
Autographs,  I,  5,  6  and  passim. 
"Awakening,"  Religious,  I,  xix,  II,  136. 

Babcock,  Barlow  and,  I,  135;  Henry,  II, 
289  n;  Joshua,  II,  230  n,  290,  404;  Mr. 
(Printer),   I,   321. 

Bache,  A.  D.,  II,  27. 

Backus,  Azel,  I,  64,  188,  II,  402;  Backus, 
Elijah,  Journal  of,  I,  314  n;  Simon,  II, 
289  n. 

Bacon,  B.  W.,  Theodore  Thornton  Munger, 
I,  67  n,  84  n,  106,  108  n;  Delia,  II,  416; 
Ezekiel,  II,  130;  Jabez,  II,  163;  L.  W., 
I,  74,  75,  A  Good  Fight  Finished,  I,  72; 
Leonard,  I,  66,  69-75,  91,  95,  237,  239, 
369,  II,  132  n,  241,  278,  296,  370,  411, 
416,  Christianity  in  History,  I,  71,  Genesis 
of  the  N.  E.  Churches,  I,  73;  Bacon, 
Leonard,  In  Memorian,  I,  69  n,  70  n,  71  n, 
73  n,  74  n,  238  n,  239  n;  Lord,  I,  5,  Ad- 
iiancement  of  Learning,  I,  198,  II,  363; 
W.  P.,  I,  274  n,  278,  280;  W.  T.,  IL  269, 
270  n. 

Bacon  Memorial,  I,  74. 

Bad  Lands  of  Dakota,  II,  73. 

Badger,  G.  E.,  II,  130,  230  n,  403;  Joseph, 

I,  51,  II,  292  n. 

Bagg,  Lyman,  Four  Years  at  Yale,  I,  8  n, 
155  n,  170  n,  351  n,  358,  II,  84,  197  n,  278  n. 

Baldwin,  Abraham,  I,  128  n,  188,  208, 
219  n,  220,  II,  131,  146,  183,  366,  390,  398, 
411,  419;  Rev.  Ebenezer,  II,  237;  Eben- 
zer  (1807),  Annals  of  Yale  College,  II, 
363  n;  E.  W.,  I,  188,  II,  401;  Henry,  II, 
183,  230  n;  R.  S.,  II,  230,  260,  270,  283-4, 
396,  397,  411,  416;  Ruth,  I,  130;  Simeon, 

II,  19,  240,  250,  257,  416;  S.  E.,  I,  175-6, 
208,  II,  228  n,  229,  231  n,  260,  397,  407, 
Great  American  Lawyers,  II,  229  n, 
255  n.  ff,  282  n;  Theron,  I,  78,  231  n,  290-1, 
II,  93,  411. 

Baldwin  County,  Ga.,  II,  187. 

Balmanno,  Mr.,  I,  157-8. 

Baltimore,  Md.,  I,  134,  II,  26,  117. 

Bancroft,  George,  I,  365,  II,  45,  46,  245, 
246. 

Banks,  Gen.,  II,  345. 

Baptist  Union  Theological  Seminary,  I,  282. 

Bar  Association  of  N.  Y.,  Memorial,  II, 
279  n. 

Barbary  States,  I,  132. 

Barber,  J.  W.,  History  and  Antiquities  of 
New  Haven,  I,  313  n. 

Baring,  Thomas,  II,  274. 

Barker,  G.  F.,  II,  3  n,  408,  409. 

Barlow,  Joel,  I,  110,  111,  111  n,  121,  126- 
135,  220,  221,  315,  318,  369,  II,  91,  130, 
161,  183,  186,  308,  310,  314,  315,  316,  411, 
Columbiad,  I,  135,  II,  315,  Hasty  Pud- 
ding, I,  132,   Vision  of  Columbus,  I,  121, 


122,  122  n,  126  n,  132,  133  n,  134-5,  221  n, 
II,   138  n,   161  n,  303  n,  314  n,  315. 

Barnard,  F.  A.  P.,  I,  221  n,  247-253,  371,  II, 
51,  365,  370,  400,  402,  409,  411,  Machinery, 
^c,  of  the  Industrial  Arts,  II,  126,  Trib- 
ute to  Gallaudet,  I,  231  n.  flF;  Henry,  I, 
190,  234,  254-263,  277,  371,  II,  26,  139  n, 
375,  380,  400,  405,  411,  Barnard's  Journal, 
I,  260  (see  also  American  Journal  of 
Education);  Robert,  I,  247. 

Barnard  College,  I,  251. 

Barnes,  C.  W.,  II,  398;  J.  S.,  II,  100,  Sub- 
marine Warfare,  II,  100. 

Barret,  John,  II,  163. 

Barry,  W.  T.  S.,  II,  295. 

Bartlett,  Nathaniel,  I,  126  n. 

Baseball,  I,  xxi,  II,  38. 

Bassett,  Archibald,  II,  17. 

Bates,  I.  C,  II,  400. 

Bath,  Me.,  I,  184. 

Battell  Chapel,  I,  26,  67,  243,  292,  307,  333, 
341. 

Bawl  of  the  Battle,  I,  98. 

Baylor  University,  II,  404. 

Beach,  H.  P.,  I,  16  n,  42  n. 

Beardsley,  E.  E.,  Life  of  Samuel  Johnson, 

I,  203,  Life  of  William  Samuel  Johnson, 

II,  144  n.  ff.  Life  of  Samuel  Seabury,  I, 
46  n,  49. 

Beaumarchais,  II,  168. 

Beaumont,  Francis,  I,  157. 

Beccaria,  Marquis,  II,  250. 

Beckwith,  George,  II,  289  n;  Nathaniel,  II, 
189. 

Bedford,  N.  H.,  I,  323. 

Beebe,  James,  II,  289  n. 

Beecher,  C,  E.,  II,  74  n,  409;  C.  \V.,  I,  55; 
Edward,  I,  188,  291,  II,  398;  Lyman,  I, 
15,  51-6,  104,  219  n,  369,  II,  183,  257,  368, 
403,  411,  416,  Election  Sermon,  I,  56, 
Lectureship,  I,  56,  Memory  of  our  Fathers, 
I,  56,  Autobiography ,  I,  51  n,  53  n,  55,  305, 
305  n;  H.  W.,  I,  51*  55,  56. 

Beers,  C.  W.,  I,  190  n;  H.  A.,  L  HO,  112, 
113  n,  154,  186,  II,  352,  Outline  Sketch 
of  American  Literature,  II,  352  n, 
Nathaniel  Parker  Willis,  I,  154  n,  155  n, 
157;  Isaac,  I,  312;  T.  P.,  II,  292  n. 

Beethoven  Society,  I,  77,  265,  II,  32,  39,  44. 

Belden,  E.  P.,  Sketches  of  Yale  College, 
I,  346,  346  n. 

Bellamy,  Joseph,  I,  12,  17,  76,  102-3,  II,  220, 
410. 

Belles  Lettres,  Instruction,  I,  xx. 

Belletristic  Americana,  I,  113. 

Bellevue  Hospital  Medical  College,  II,  402, 

Beloit  College,  I,  188,  II,  405,  409. 

Benedict,  Mary  K.,  II,  405. 

Benham,  H.  W.,  II,  294. 

Benjamin,  Judah  P.,  II,  228,  261,  364  n,  411, 
419,  Sale  of  Personal  Property,  II,  228. 

Benson,  Fasti  Etonienses,  I,  10. 


[425] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Bentley,  Richard,  I,  199. 

Berea  "College,  II,  341. 

Berkeley,  Bishop,  I,  202,  203,  208,  209,  276  n, 
299,  300,   II,  8. 

Berkeley  Club,  I,  181;  Scholarship,  I,  xix, 
117,  184,  202,  208,  209,  287,  367,  II,  64, 
70,  144,  166,  299,  317,  349,  350,  365. 

Berlin,  Conn.,  I,  152;  University  of,  I,  240, 
268,  II,  65,  71,  386. 

Bernouilli,  Daniel,  II,  101. 

Berzelius,  J.  J.,  II,  35. 

Bethlehem,  Conn.,  I,  64,  102. 

Betts,  S.  R.,  I,  140  n;  Thaddeus,  II,  397. 

Bhamdun,  Syria,  I,  105. 

Bible,  King  James,  II,  384;  Literary  merit 
of,  I,  219;  Society,  I,  153;  Teaching  of, 
I,  283,  285;  Translations  of,  I,  16,  61-2, 
105,  319. 

Biblical  Scholarship  in  America,  I,  57; 
Biblical  World,  I,  283  n,  284,  284  n,  285. 

Bicentennial,  I,  3,  26  n,  33,  86,  109,  164,  165, 
171,  189  n,  191,  191  n,  261,  261  n,  268,  269  n, 
278  n,  281,  282  n,  290  n,  II,  2,  6  n,  10  n,  11, 
11  n,  31  n,  35,  61,  61  n,  227,  272,  273  n, 
281  n,  286  n,  296  n,  367;  Buildings,  I,  xxii; 
Fund,  II,  241  n;  Medal,  II,  127  n. 

Biddle,  James,  I,  96. 

Bidwell,  Adonijah,  II,  289  n. 

Big  Bethel,  II,  353,  354. 

Bigelow,  John,  II,  214,  216  n,  Life  of 
Samuel  J.  Tilden,  II,  212  n.  ff. 

Bigsby  Medal,  II,  74. 

Billings,  Elisha,  II,  183. 

Bingham,  Hiram,  Sr.,  II,  416;  Hiram,  I,  16, 
62,  97-101,  167,  369,  II,  412,  416. 

Binney,  Horace,  Jr.,  I,  247;  Horace,  Lead- 
ers of  Old  Bar  of  Philadelphia,  II,  282  n. 

Biographies,  Basis  of  Selection,  I,  2. 

Birney,  William,  II,  294. 

"Birth  of  the  Babe,"  I,  20. 

Bishop,  A.  W.,  II,  294,  396;  Timothy,  II, 
16,  18;  AV.  D.,  II,  92. 

Bishop,  First  American,  I,  14,  46,  47,  48. 

Bishop's  Theatre,  II,  256. 

Bissell,  Clark,  II,  396;  W.  S.,  II,  130,  402. 

Blackstone,  Sir  William,  II,  242;  Commen- 
taries, II,  240,  242,  243. 

Blair,  Francis  P.,  Jr.,  II,  294  n. 

Blake  Brothers,  II,  121,  124;  Edward,  II, 
294;  E.  W.,  II,  91,  92,  120-4,  411,  416,  417; 
Henry  T.,  I,  170,  II,  120,  121  n,  199  n; 
W.  P.,  II,  89. 

Blatchford,  Samuel,  II,  274-5. 

Bliss,  Gen.,  II,  293  n;  George,  II,  293  n. 

Blodget,  Henry,  I,  16. 

Blumentritt,  Ferdinand,  I,  363. 

Boarding  schools,  I,  9,  II,  386. 

Boardman,  Benjamin,  II,  173;  J.  T.,  II,  263. 

Boating,  I,  xxi. 

Bogue,  A.  J.,  II,  291  n. 

Boltwood,  B.  B.,  II,  409. 

Bonb right,  Daniel,  II,  399. 

Bonn,  University  of,  I,  240. 


Book  of  Averages,  I,  97;  Book  of  Common 

Prayer,  Revision  of,  I,  50. 
Boone,  Daniel,  II,  338. 
Boston,   Mass.,   I,   99,   321,   II,   9,   115,   250, 

268;    Alumni    Association    of,    II,    224  n; 

Athenaeum,    I,   294;   Boston   Chronicle,   I, 

119  n;  Mercantile  Library,  I,  294. 
Botanical  Garden,  II,  74. 
Botany,  II,  86,  86  n,  172  ff. 
Botsford,  William,  II,  231  n. 
Boudinot,  Elias,  II,  282. 
Bourne,  E.  G.,  I,  367-8,  II,  412,  416;  John, 

Treatise  on  Screw  Propeller,  II,  101  n. 
Bowdoin  College,  I,  4  n,  110,  113  n,  II,  251. 
Bowers,  Lloyd,  II,  230. 
Bowing  prescribed,  I,  215-6,  II,  159,  160. 
Boyle-Cooper  incident,  I,  141. 
Brace,  C.  L.,  I,  293-4;  II,  412,  Gesta  Christi, 

I,  293. 
Bradford,  Gamaliel,  Jr.,  II,  266. 
Bradlej',  A.  G.,  Lord  Dorchester,  II,  235  n; 

S.  R.,  II,  250,  405, 
Brady,  J.  G.,  II,  396. 

Brainard,  D.  T.,  II,  293  n;  J.  G.  C,  I,  111  n. 
Brainerd,  David,  I,  4,  6,  14,  16,  18,  31,  36-43, 

92,  194,  194  n,  369,  II,  93,  135,  136  n,  176  n, 

365,  366,  367,  410,  Divine  Grace  Displayed, 

I,  39,  Mirabilia  Dei  apud  Indicos,  I,  39; 
John,  II,  289  n. 

Brandagee,  Jacob,  II,  163. 
Brandegee,  F.  B.,  II,  397. 
Branford,  Conn.,  I,  244,  II,  255. 
Brant,  Joseph,  I,  210. 
Brattleboro,   Vt.,   I,  63. 
Bread  and  Butter  Rebellion,  I,  xxi,  II,  26, 
Breslau  University,  II,  71. 
Brewer,  D.  J.,  I,  189,  248  n,  270  n,  II,  230  n, 
285,  412;  J.  H.,  II,  53,  54;  Josiah,  I,  248, 

II,  285;  W.  H.,  II,  3  n,  4,  41,  61,  77,  89- 
90,  93,  408,  409,  412,  416. 

Brewster,  Benjamin,  II,  396;  Chauncev  B., 
II,  398;  E.  T.,  II,  42,  Life  and  Lette'rs  of 
Josiah  Dwight  Whitney,  II,  38n.  ff; 
James,  II,  20. 

Brick  Row,  I,  xxi,  162  (see  also  under  Con- 
necticut Hall,  etc.). 

Bridgman,  E.  C,  I,  62. 

Brinlev  Catalogue,  I,  347,  350. 

Brintnall,  William,  II,  289  n. 

Brinton,  D.  G.,  I,  346,  351-5,  371,  II,  407, 
412;  Brinton  Memorial  Meeting,  I,  351 
n.  ff. 

Bristed,  C.  A.,  I,  185,  208,  II,  365,  412. 

Bristed  Scholarship,  I,  185,  II,  64. 

British  and  American  Steam  Navigation 
Co.,  II,  125. 

British  Museum,  I,  367. 

Britton,  W.  E.,  II,  409. 

Brockway,  J.  H.,  I,  70,  239. 

Bronson,  Enos,  II,  139  n. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  I,  55. 

Brooks,  Mr.,  I,  157;  Phillips,  I,  56,  II,  390; 
S.  P.,  II,  404. 


[426] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Brothers  in  Unity,  I,  xx,  7,  53,  69,  80,  89, 
130,  147,  154,  157,  169,  238,  238,  265,  273, 
291,  292,  294,  II,  16,  197,  198,  207,  255, 
261,  262,  276,  277,  278,  309,  309  n,  344, 
370,  393;  Library,  I,  333,  II,  332;  Records, 

I,  69  n,  169  n,  239  n,  294  n,  11,  198  n,  207 
n.  fF,  256  n. 

Brown,  B.  G.,  II,  225-6,  401,  412;  E.  E., 
Meaning  of  our  Secondary  Schools,  I, 
221  n;  H.  B.,  II,  230  n,  285;  J.  C,  Ameri- 
cana, II,  392;  J.  E.,  II,  224-5,  231  n,  398, 
412;  S.  R.,  105-6,  II,  411;  Thomas,  I,  90; 
W.  A.,  I,  105. 

Brown  University,  I,  4,  113  n,  257,  277,  328, 

II,  80,  132,  194,  391,  394  n. 
Browne,  Daniel,  I,  13,  200. 
Brownson,  Nathan,  II,  398. 

Bruce,  Addington,  in  Outlook,  I,  115  n. 

Brush,  G.  J.,  I,  2  n,  333,  II,  3,  3  n,  36,  58,  76, 
77,  82,  89,  90,  408,  409,  416;  William,  II, 
399,  404. 

Bryant,  Joseph,  II,  136;  Solomon,  I,  62; 
W.  C,  I,  110,  143,  150,  II,  341,  Memorial 
Discourse,  I,  143. 

Bryology,  II,  86. 

Buckminster,  Joseph,  I,  126,  314,  315,  II, 
184,  309. 

Bucolics,  I,  337. 

Buell,  Samuel,  I,  31. 

Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  II,  333;  University  of,  II, 
402. 

"Bullyism."  I,  xxi.  324-5,  II,  85,  86,  270-1.  344. 

Bulwer-Lytton,  I,  160. 

Bumstead,  H.  A.,  II,  67,  409,  in  Biographical 
Memoirs,  II,  66  n,  Josiah  Willard  Gibbs, 
II,  66  n;  Horace,  II,  398. 

Burgersdiem  and  Ramus,  Logic,  I,  197. 

Burgoyne,  Gen.,  I,  314,  II,  161,  168,  332. 

Burke,  Edmund,  II,  218. 

Burmese  Scriptures,  I,  62. 

Burnett,  C.  H.,  II,  407. 

Burr,  Aaron  (Princeton),  I,  39,  194,  206, 
208,  287,  II,  401,  410;  Aaron  (Vice- 
President  U.  S.),  I,  287;  David,  II,  289  n; 
Esther,  Journal,  I,  31,  32  n,  33  n,  37  n, 
39  n,   42  n,    194  n;    Jerusha,    I,   31;    Mary, 

I,  31. 

Burroughs,  J.  C,  I,  188  n,  II,  399. 

Burton,  M.  LeR.,  II,  400. 

Busby,  Richard,  I,  140. 

"Bush,  David,"  II,  99,  99  n. 

Bushnell,  David,  I,  6,  12,  II,  91,  92,  95-102, 
310,  411,  417;  Horace,  I,  68,  76-87,  106, 
109,  249,  257,  291  n,  369,  II,  132  n,  278, 
294,  296,  363,  375,  379,  390,  393,  411. 

Butler,  B.  F.,  II,  273,  353;  Jonathan,  II, 
163;  Pierce,  American  Crisis  Biographies, 

II,  263  n,  266;  T.  B.,  II,  231  n. 
Butterfield,  Daniel,  II,  362. 
Buxtorf,  Johann  (Sr.  and  Jr.),  I,  284. 
Byington,  Cyrus,  I,  62. 

Byron,  II,  44. 


Cabinet,  Yale  members  of,  II,  129-130. 
Cain,  J.  W.,  II,  400. 
Cairns,  Lord,  II,  265. 
Caldwell,  J.  C,  II,  403. 

Calhoun,  J.  C,  I,  183,  II,  129,  133,  196-206, 
257,  278,  333,  368,  393,  404,  411,  419; 
Patrick    II    196. 

California,  College  of,  I,  291,  II,  89;  First 
newspaper,  I,  291  n;  First  schoolhouse,  I, 
291  n;  First  state  geologist,  II,  40; 
Geological  Survey,  II,  5,  40-1,  89;  Repre- 
sentative Yale  men,  II,  396;  University 
of,  I,  82  n,  154,  179,  181,  188,  269,  II,  387, 
396,  409. 

Calliope,  I,  xx,  265,  II,  197,  309  n,  344. 

Calliopean  Society,  Catalogue  of,  II,  344  n. 

Calvinism,  I,  12,  33,  67,  200. 

Cambridge,  Mass.,  I,  45,  110,  312,  325,  327, 
II,  391;  Episcopal  Theological  School,  II, 
284;  First  church,  I,  364;  University,  I, 
10,  177,  185,  II,  290  n,  386,  387. 

Cameron,  Donald,  II,  340,  342. 

Camp,  Henry,  II,  294. 

Camp  (Walter)  and  Welch,  Yale  Her 
Campus  Class  Booms  and  Athletics,  I, 
171. 

Campbell,  Thomas,  I,  173. 

Campus,  I,  242,  244,  325,  342-3,  II,  14,  239; 
impressions,  I,  162-3. 

Canada  Geological  Survey,  II,  5,  89;  Inva- 
sion of,  II,  13,  289  n,  299. 

Canby,  Gen.,  II,  346. 

Candee,  J.  D.,  I,  294. 

Cane,  Rules  regarding,  I,  215. 

Caner,  Henry,  II,  145. 

Canterbury,  Conn.,  I,  20. 

Cantey,  James,  II,  17. 

Canton,  China,  I,  93,  105. 

Cape  Breton,  Expedition  to,  II,  13,  302. 

Caperton,  A.  T.,  II,  337,  405. 

Card  playing  forbidden,  I,  217,  II,  298. 

Carleton,  Henrv,  II,  292  n. 

Carleton  College,  II,  400. 

Carlyle,  Thomas,  I,  1,  165,  175,  361. 

Carmalt,  Mrs.  William,  I,  205. 

Carnegie  Foundation,  I,  270,  277,  II,  7. 

Carrington,  H.  B.,  II,  294. 

Carter,  G.  R.,  II,  398. 

Case,  Ebenezer,  II,  289  n;  Henry,  II,  294. 

Catalogue,  II,  124  n;  First,  I,  xx;  Catalogue 
of  Oj^cers  and  Graduates  (1799),  I,  35, 
(1859),  H,  293  n,  (1910),  I,  2,  188,  II,  129. 

Catechising,  I,  262. 

Cato,  II,  138. 

Cattell,  J.  McK.,  II,  4. 

Caunameek,  Mass.  (see  Kaunameek) 

Center  Church,  I,  60,  66,  71,  73,  II,  337,  413. 

Central  Park,  N.  Y.,  II,  126. 

"Centum  Milia"  Fund,  II,  241  n. 

Century  Club,  Tribute  to  Clarence  King, 
II,  81;  Century  Dictionary,  I,  297;  Cen- 
tury Magazine,  I,  72  n,  180  n,  348,  349  n, 
355. 


[427] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


"Cerberus,"  Attempt  to  destroy  the,  II,  98. 

Cevlon,  I,  16. 

Chaffee,  H.  B.,  II,  292  n. 

Chalmers,  Thomas,  I,  26. 

Chamberlain,  D.  H.,  II,  404;  Theophilus,  II, 
289  n. 

Champlin,  E.  H.,  II,  119. 

Chancellorsville,  I,  352,  II,  361. 

Chandler,  Rev.  Mr.,  I,  28;  T.  B.,  I,  44,  Life 
of  Samuel  Johnson,  I,  197  n,  198  n,  201  n, 
203. 

Changsha  College,  China,  I,  17,  187,  191. 

Channing,  Edward,  History  of  the  U.  S., 
II,  179  n;  Henry,  II,  248;  H.  W.,  II, 
292  n;  W.  E.,  I,  33,  306,  II,  378. 

Chapel,  I,  147,  161-2,  II,  177,  332  (see  Col- 
lege Church  and  Prayers). 

Chapin,  A.  L.,  I,  188,  II,  405;  Calvin,  II, 
250;  H.  B.,  II,  344  n,  345  n. 

Chaplin,  Benjamin,  I,  128;  J.  E.,  II,  292  n. 

Characteristics  of  Eminent  Yale  Men,  II, 
371-380. 

Charity  organization,  I,  190  n. 

Charles  I,  I,  140;  X,  I,  145. 

Charleston,  S.  C,  I,  148,  227,  310,  II,  84, 
115,  196  n,  197,  255,  261. 

Charlestown,  Mass.,  I,  287,  II,  112. 

Charlotte,  N.  C,  I,  310. 

Charter  of  College,  I,  xix,  II,  129,  152,  286, 

Chase,  Chief  Justice  S.  P.,  II,  279. 

Chasles,  Michel,  II,  54. 

Chassell,  Dr.,  I,  336. 

Chaucer,  II,  39. 

Chauncey,  Charles,  I,  240,  II,  230. 

Chauvenet,  William,  II,  1,  43-47,  401,  409, 
412,  417;  W.  M.,  II,  44  n. 

Chemical  Equilibrium,  II,  64  ff,  93;  Labora- 
tory, I,  242,  II,  55,  59,  63. 

Chemistry,  I,  190,  336,  II,  2,  3,  15,  19-23,  39, 
40,  55-63,  66-7,  84,  86,  88,  89;  School  of, 
I,  xxi. 

Chen,  Chin-tao,  II,  406. 

Cheney,  Mrs.  Frank,  I,  87;  Life  and  Letters 
of  Horace  BushneU,  I,  77  n,  79  n,  81  n,  86; 
Ward,  II,  296. 

Cherokee  Scriptures,  I,  62. 

Cheshire,  Conn.,  I,  46. 

Chester,  Conn.,  I,  213. 

Chesterfield,  Lord,  Letters  on  Politeness, 
I,  287. 

Chicago  Board  of  Education,  I,  285;  Public 
Library-,  I,  294;  Theological  Seminary,  II, 
399;  University  of,  I,  188,  188  n,  281,  283, 
284  ff,  II,  380,  399. 

Chickamauga,  II,  361. 

Chi  Delta  Theta,  I,  xx,  337,  365,  II,  39. 

Children's  Aid  Society,  I,  293. 

Children's  Bureau,  I,  293. 

China,  I,  16,  17,  88-96,  105,  II,  367;  Repre- 
sentative Yale  men,  II,  406;  Yale  Mission, 
I,  17,  187,  191. 

Chinese  Educational  Commission,  II,  407; 
Scriptures,  I,  16,  62. 


Chipman,  Daniel,  Life  of  Nathaniel  Chip- 
man,  II,  221  n;  Nathaniel,  II,  221-2,  230  n, 
405,  411. 

Chippewa,  II,  334. 

Chittenden,  Russell  H.,  II,  3  n,  408,  409. 

Chittenden  Library,  I,  xxii. 

Choate,  J.  H.,  II,  272,  279. 

Choctaw  Scriptures,  I,  62. 

Christ,  Doctrine  of,  I,  85. 

Christian  Spectator,  I,  73;  Unity  movements, 

I,  105;  University,  II,  401. 
Christiania  University,  II,  69. 
"Chronicles"  of  Barlow,  I,  126-7. 
Church,  F.  E.,  II,  351;  Samuel,  II,  231  n. 
Church    of    Christ    in    Yale     (see    College 

Church). 
Church  union  advocated,  I,  306-7. 
Cicero,    I,    114  n,    128,    247,    315,    336,    365, 

II,  247,  317,  384. 

Cincinnati,  O.,  I,  55,  II,  85,  337;  Public 
Library,  I,  294. 

Civil  Engineering,  Professorship,  II,  2. 

Civil  War,  I,  111,  121,  293,  352,  II,  133,  225, 
264,  266-7,  287,  293-6,  345-7,  361-2,  374, 
385,  390,  393. 

Claggett,  Bishop,  I,  48. 

Clap,  Thomas,  I,  xix,  4,  37,  39,  42,  46,  118, 
129,  198,  214,  245,  249  n,  295,  300,  307, 
II,  13,  20,  138,  144,  151,  152,  158,  173, 
303,  367,  416,  Annals,  I,  14  n,  19  n,  193  n, 
205  n,  II,  8n,  138  n.  College  Memories,  I, 
44,  Ethics,  I,  128. 

Clark,  G.  L.,  Silas  Deane,  II,  167n.  ff; 
T.  M.,  I,  14  n,  II,  404. 

Clark  Scholarship,  II,  64,  350,  351;  Tele- 
scope, II,  85;  University,  I,  271. 

Class  Deacons,  II,  373;  History,  the  first, 
I,  55;  first  of  one  hundred  graduates,  I, 
xxi;  Orators  and  Poets,  I,  xxi;  Record, 
the  first,  I,  XX ;  Reunion  meetings,  I, 
265;  Class  of  1756,  L  303;  of  1767,  I, 
218  n;  of  1792,  II,  105  n;  of  1802,  I,  225, 
225  n,  289  n;  Class  of  1813,  I,  183  n;  of 
1814,  I,  224;  of  1817,  \,  226;  of  1827,  I, 
290  n;  Class  of  1880,  I,  255  n;  of  1831,  I, 
330;  Cla^s  of  1832,  II,  339  n;  Class  of 
1837,  II,  213  n,  276;  Class  of  I84I,  I,  161; 
of  1842,  I,  292,  338;  Class  of  IS47,  II, 
344  n,  345  n ;  Class  of  I848,  I,  16  n ;  Class 
of  1853,  I,  99  n;  Class  of  1855,  I,  107  n; 
of  1856,  II,  33,  33  n;  Cla^s  of  1858,  I, 
277  n,  278,  279;  Class  of  1861,  I,  178  n, 
179  n,  180  n;  Class  of  1863,  I,  356,  357  n; 
of  1895,  IL  164  n. 

Classes,  Eminent  Yale  men  by,  II,  410-2. 

Classics,  Importance  of,  I,  275. 

Classroom,  Picture  of,  I,  361. 

Clay,  C.  M.,  II,  130,  132  n,  139  n,  226,  287, 
294,  337-342,  411,  419,  Life  of  Cassius 
MarceUtis  Clay,  II,  337n.  ff;  Green,  II, 
337;  Henry,  II,  201,  202,  203,  223,  253, 
335,  337. 

Clay  pool,  T.  H.,  II,  402. 


[428] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Clayton,  J.  M.,  II,  129,  207-211,  231  n,  278, 

393,  398,  411,  419. 
Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty,  II,  207. 
Cleaveland,    Ebenezer,    I,   39;   John,    I,   39; 

Moses,  II,  178. 
Clemens,  S.  L.,  I,  348. 
Clerc,  Laurent,  I,  231. 
Clergymen,  Entire  classes  of,  II,  136  n;  1783, 

Meeting   of   Connecticut,    I,   13    (see   also 

under  Congregational). 
Clerical-Physicians,  last  of  the,  II,  11. 
Cleveland,  O.,  II,  85. 
Clinton,  DeWitt,  II,  141,  160,  188,  281,  282, 

335;  Henry,  II,  310. 
Clinton  (see  Killingworth). 
Cliosophic  Oration,  I,  298,  315,  II,  239,  365. 
Cloyne,    Bishop    of,    I,    200,    209    (see    also 

under  Berkeley). 
Clubs  and  societies   (see  Brothers,  Calliope, 

Chi    Delta    Theta,    Hexahedron,    Linonia, 

Moral  Society,  Phi  Beta  Kappa,  Philago- 

rian,  etc.). 
Cobden,  Richard,  II,  275. 
Cobden  Club,  I,  367. 
"Cochleaureati,"  I,  170. 
Coe  College,  II,  399. 
Coffin,  W.  A.,  II,  127  n. 
Cogswell,  Alice,  I,  231;  M.  F.,  I,  121,  231, 

II,  6,  83,  411;  Samuel,  II,  221. 
Colchester,  Conn.,  II,  156. 
Cole,  Samuel,  II,  163. 
Coleridge,  J.  T.,  II,  274;  S.  T.,  I,  330,  Aids 

to  Reflection,  I,  77,  II,  363. 
College   (see  also  under  Yale)  ;  Apparatus, 

I,   51,   II,    15,   249;    Atmosphere,    II,   371; 

Bullv,  I,  325,  II,  85,  86,  270,  344;  Butler, 

I,  22,  300,  303,  II,  151,  159,  255,  332; 
Church,  I,  xix,  77,  82,  84,  131,  219,  226,  240, 
289,  II,  13,  19,  176,  367;  Color,  II,  309  n; 
Conditions,  I,  51,  127,  332,  342-3,  II,  15, 
174,  190,  255,  299,  344;  College  Coiirant 
(see  under  Yale  Courant) ;  Disbanded,  I, 
126,  220,  313,  II,  192;  Discipline,  I,  7,  39, 
80  n,  116,  137,  139,  153,  154,  167,  168,  176, 
193,  215,  216,  301-3,  II,  16,  112,  113,  159, 
165,  173,  174,  220,  263  n,  283,  298;  Disorder 
(see  College  Discipline,  Rebellions,  Riots, 
"Town  and  Gown");  Faculty  (see  Fac- 
ulty) ;   Friendships,   I,   127,   176,   198,  267, 

II,  156,  190,  321-2;  Hall,  I,  xix,  xx,  199  n, 
200,  200  n,  II,  177;  Journalism  (see  Lit- 
erary Magazine,  etc.,  under  Yale) ;  Laws, 
I,  114  n,  "ll,  158,  159,  164,  165  (see  also 
College  Rules) ;  Life,  I,  45,  51,  52,  53,  69, 
70,  78,  88,  89,  92,  97,  107,  116,  117,  118, 
129,  136,  137,  138,  139,  140,  146,  147,  154, 
155,  161,  163,  175,  176,  184,  185,  200,  207, 
214,  238,  247-9,  264,  267,  273,  300,  332,  338, 
358,  II,  15,  16,  17,  18,  37,  38,  39,  40,  76,  77, 
84,  112,  113,  135-6,  158,  159,  173,  174,  190, 
192,  240,  247,  248,  250,  276,  332-3,  344,  369, 
370,    371;    Military    Company,    I,    312-3; 


Missionary  Society  (see  Foreign  Mis- 
sions); Monitor,  I,  303;  Pranks,  I,  59, 
154-5,  II,  76-7  (see  College  Life);  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons  (N.  Y.),  II, 
7  n,  83,  402;  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons 
of  Western  District  N.  Y.,  I,  336;  Presi- 
dents, Yale's  Contribution  to,  I,  188; 
Quadrangle  begun,  I,  xxi;  Removal  from 
Saybrook,  I,  xix,  19,  to  Prospect  Hill,  I, 
342-3;  Rules,  I,  137,  193,  215,  216,  II, 
15,  16,  158-9  (see  also  College  Laws); 
Steward,  I,  125,  161,  193,  205,  II,  26,  159, 
190,  307;  College  Words  and  Phrases,  II, 
239  n. 
Collegiate  House  (see  College  Hall) ;  School 
of   Connecticut,    I,   xix,  20,    192,   193,   199, 

200,  II,  8;  "Collegiate  Undertakers,"  I,  14. 
CoUegii  Yalensis  Statuta,  I,  114  n. 
Collins,    Ambrose,    II,   289  n;    Timothy,    II, 

289  n. 
Colorado    College,    II,    396;    Representative 

Yale  men,  II,  396. 
Colt,  LeBaron,  II,  406;  Peter,  II,  359. 
Colton,    Calvin,   I,   291  n;    Simeon,    II,   400; 

Walter,  I,  291  n;  W.  S.,  II,  53,  54. 
Columbia,  Conn.,  I,  210. 
Columbia  University,  I,  44,  113  n,  188,  197, 

201,  208,  247,  251*,  261,  270,  271,  335,  346, 
II,  36,  132,  140,  144,  147,  178  n,  242,  245, 
388,  389,  391,  394,  402;  Law  School,  II, 
229,  242;  Columbia  University,  History 
of,  I,  202  n,  251. 

Columbian  L^niversity  (Washington,  D.  C), 

I,  132. 

Comegys,  J.  P.,  Memoir  of  John  M.  Clayton, 

II,  207  n,  209  n,  210. 
Commemorative  Celebration,  I,  85,  II,  293  n, 

295  n,  352  n,  353  n. 

Commencement,  I,  45,  128-9,  II,  40,  165, 
165  n,  174  n,  175  n,  298,  350. 

Commons,  I,  45,  116,  138,  161,  205,  II,  14,  26, 
112-3,  175,  190,  191,  213,  276  (see  also 
Dining  Hall). 

Competitive  Scholarships,  I,  189. 

Concord  School  of  Philosophy,  I,  275. 

Confederate  Government,  I,  xxi  (see  also 
biographies  of  J.  P.  Benjamin,  J.  E. 
Brown,  R.  Taylor,  etc.). 

Congregational  atmosphere  at  Yale,  I,  44; 
Ministers,  I,  13,  II,  9,  374,  285;  New  Eng- 
land, I,  11,  67,  76,  103. 

Congregationalism,  Historic  significance  of, 
11,  385. 

Congregationalist,  I,  71;  Foremost  Ameri- 
can, I,  71, 

Congress,  Yale  men  in,  II,  129  n,  132. 

"Conic  Sections  Rebellion,"  I,  xxi,  79,  154. 

Connecticut,  II,  374,  374  n;  Academy,  I,  xx, 
II,  122;  Connecticut  Academy  Trans- 
actions, II,  65,  66,  72;  Agricultural  Col- 
lege, II,  397;  Bishop  of,  1,  48;  Connecticut 
Gazette,  I,  115  n;  Hall,  I,  xix,  45,  51,  147, 


[429] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


177,  II,  14,  21,  85,  164,  177,  185,  220,  239, 
318,  327,  329,  391;  Historical  Society,  I, 
346,  II,  97  n,  98  n,  170;  Connecticut  Jour- 
nal, I,  313  n;  Light  Dragoons,  I,  213; 
Connecticut  Magazine,  I,  62;  Missionary 
Society,  I,  34;  Connecticut  Quarterly,  I, 
314  n;  Representative  Yale  men,  II,  396- 
8;  Survey,  II,  5;  "Connecticut  Wits"  (see 
"Hartford  Wits"). 

Conner,  S.  S.,  I,  141,  II,  292  n. 

Conservatism  of  Yale  men,  II,  377-9. 

Constitution,  Framing  of,  II,  187-8,  289,  380. 

Constitutional  Convention,  II,  131,  149,  188. 

Constructive  Activity  of  Yale  men,  II,  379- 
380. 

Continental  Congress,  I,  47,  II,  168,  185, 
191,  218,  219,  220;  College  Graduates  in, 
II,  132. 

Continuitv,   Importance  of,  II,  381-3. 

Conversions,  I,  31,  37,  58,  64-5,  81-3,  206, 
289,  II,  19,  349,  cf.  I,  53,  153,  217. 

Cook,  Joseph,  I,  4  n. 

Cooke,  Samuel,  II,  12. 

Cooks,  Difficulty  with,  II,  112-3. 

Cooper,  Fcnimore,  I,  3,  4,  7,  110,  136-145, 
160,  167,  369,  II,  116,  364  n,  411,  Works, 
I,  142-3;  O.  H.,  II,  404. 

Cooperstown,  N.  Y.,  I,  136. 

Copley  Medal,  II,  35,  69. 

Copyright  Laws,  I,  318. 

Coram,  Mr.,  I,  28. 

Corbvn,  W.  B.,  II,  401. 

Corcoran,  W.  W.,  I,  367. 

Cornell  University,  I,  186,  188,  190  n,  358, 
367,  II,  402. 

Cornwall,  Conn.,  Foreign  Mission  School  at, 

I,  17  n;  N.  Y.,  I,  157. 
Corporation  (see  Yale  Corporation). 
Correggio's  Holy  Night,  I,  279. 
Cosmopolite,  First  American,  I,  133. 
Cotton     crop,     1793-1825,     II,     109  n;     Gin, 

Invention  of,  II,  103  ff,  380. 
Couch,  J.  N.,  II,  292  n. 
Coudert,  Frederick,  I,  270  n. 
Coventrj',  Conn.,  II,  322. 
Cowles,  Pitkin,  II,  292  n. 
Cowling,  D.  J.,  II,  400. 
Cowper,  William,  II,  22. 
Coxe,   Macgrane,  Chancellor  Kent  at   Yale, 

II,  240  n.  if. 
Crane,  C.  H.,  II,  294. 
Cranworth,  Lord,  II,  274. 

Creasy,  E.  S.,  Memoirs  of  Eminent  Eto- 
nians, I,  9. 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  II,   158,  277. 

Crossweeksung,  N.  J.,  I,  39. 

Croswell,  William,  I,  111,  111  n. 

Crowcll,  J.  F.,  II,  403. 

Crown  Point,  II,  289  n,  299,  300,  303. 

Croxton,  J.  T.,  II,  294. 

Curriculum,  I,  90,  92,  117,  128,  189,  197, 
207,  242,  266,  361,  II,  158. 


Curtis,  G.  W.,  II,  351  n,  353,  354;  G.  T., 
Life  of  Webster.  II,  252  n. 

Gushing,  Caleb,  I,  93,  94,  96,  II,  278. 

Cutler,  Carroll,  II,  403;  Julia  P.,  II,  180; 
Manasseh,  I,  3,  189,  212,  219  n,  II,  86  n, 
93,  172-182,  249,  301  n,  375,  378,  380,  390, 
411,  417;  Cutler,  Manasseh,  Life  and 
Correspondence  of,  bv  W.  P.  and  J.  P. 
Cutler,  H,  172  n.  ff,  '249  n;  Timothy,  I, 
xix,  13,  20,  21,  23,  44,  200,  201,  II,  12,' 281; 
W.  P.,  II,  ISO. 

Cuvier  Prize,  II,  74. 

Cuyahoga  Falls,  N.  Y.,  I,  179,  181. 

Cyclopadia  of  American  Literature,  I, 
"114  n. 

Dabney,  C.  W.,  I,  183. 

Daggett,  David,  II,  23,  24,  229,  230  n,  241, 

397,    416;    Naphtali,    I,    xx,    127,    208,    II, 

238,  390,  397,  416. 
Dagsborough,  Del.,   II,  207. 
Dakota  University,   II,  404. 
Dana,  E.  S.,   II,  "l,  34,  409;   J.   D.,   I,   148, 

165,  II,  1,  5,  8,  31-6,  57,  63,  76,  368,  409, 

411,  416,  417;  J.  F.,  II,  115,  116;  S.  W., 

II,  397. 
Danbury,  Conn.,  II,  191,  237,  302,  304,  305. 
Dancing,  II,  239,  239  n. 
Dane,  Nathan,  II,  179. 
Danielson,  Timothy,  II,  290. 
Dante,  I,  165,  Divina  Commedia,  I,  276. 
Danville,  N.  Y.,  I,  63. 
d'Appiny,  Count,  I,  144. 
Darley,  F.  O.  C,  I,  184. 
Dartmouth,  Earl  of,  I,  210. 
Dartmouth   College,   I,   103,   113  n,   126,  188, 

206-213,   328,   II,   245,   251,   357,   390,   391, 

394  n,  401. 
Darwin,  Charles,  II,  35,  73. 
Davidson  College,  II,  403. 
Davies,   Charles,   I,  253;   T.   F.,   I,  208,   II, 

400. 
Davis,  B.  C,  II,  403;  David,  H,  229,  230  n; 

Henry,    II,   402,   405;    Jefferson,    II,   225, 

264,  295,   346;   John,   II,  222-3,   400,   411; 

T.  K.,  II,  343. 
Dawes,  H.  L.,  II,  224,  400,  412. 
Day,  Aaron,  I,  204,  205;  G.  E.,  I,  17  n,  242, 

243,   II,  31,  416;  Jeremiah,   I,  xx,  76,  89, 

112,  139,  144,  147,  153,  161,  162  n,  183,  223, 

248,    288,    329,    II,    22,   44,    113,    114,    203, 

204  n,  210,  241,  262-3,  305,  344,  397,  411, 

416;  Thomas,  II,  243  n. 
Day  Mission  Library,  II,  31. 
Dayton,  L.  M.,  II,  294. 
Deaf  Mute  Instruction,  I,  190,  228  ff,  234-5, 

II,  83,  380. 
Deane,  Silas,  I,  208,  219  n,  II,  96,  130,  164- 

171,  183,  366,  411,  417. 
Dearborn,  Henry,  II,  358. 
Debating  societies,  I,  xxii,  249,  II,  269,  270, 

370  (see  also  Linonia,  and  Brothers). 


[430] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Declamation,  Instruction  in,  I,  207,  II,  38, 
158. 

Declaration  of  Independence,  I,  xx,  II,  138, 
140,  158,  168  n,  189,  218,  219,  237,  290, 
316,  380;  Declaration  of  the  Rectors  and 
Tutors  against  Whitefield,  I,  36  n. 

Deerfield,  Mass.,  II,  86;  Captives,  I,  102. 

"Defense,"  Sloop,  II,  302. 

De  Forest,  H.  S.,  II,  396;  J.  K.  H.,  I,  16; 
R.  W.,  I,  190  n. 

De  Forest  Medal,  I,   177. 

De  Kalb,  Baron,  II,  168. 

Delafield,  Edward,  II,  7  n,  402;  Francis, 
II,  407;  Joseph,  II,  292  n;  M.  L.,  William 
Smith  the  Historian,  II,  235. 

DeLancey,  W.  H.,  I,  14  n,  104,  142,  II, 
403,  411. 

Delavan,  D.  B.,  II,  408. 

Delaware,  Forks  of,  I,  40;  Delaware, 
Papers  of  the  Historical  Society  of,  II, 
210;  Representative  Yale  men,  II,  398; 
River,  I,  42. 

Delta  Kap,  I,  97,  170. 

Delta  Kappa  Epsilon,  I,  351. 

Darning,  H.  C,  II,  306,  Oration  upon  the 
Life  and  Services  of  General  David 
Wooster,  II,  303  n,  304  n. 

Democracy  of  Yale  men,  II,  372-5. 

Demosthenes,  II,  138,  de  Corona,  I,  329. 

Dench,  E.  B.,  II,  408. 

Denison,  J.  E.,  II,  274. 

Denison  University,  I,  282. 

Dennis,  F.  S.,  II,  408. 

Depew,  C.  M.,  II,  402. 

Derbv,  Conn.,  II,  302,  308. 

Derham,  William,  II,  138. 

De  Tocqueville,  Democracy  in  America,  I, 
271,  364. 

Detroit,  I,  69,  II,  292,  358. 

Devotion,  John,  II,  95  n. 

De  Wolf,  Nathan,  II,  289  n. 

Dexter,  F.  B.,  I,  vii,  6,  25,  26,  35,  180,  223, 
350,  365,  II,  194,  214,  250,  392,  History  of 
Yale  University,  I,  81  n,  117  n,  202  n, 
205  n,  223  n,  242  n;  New  Haven  in  1784, 
II,  249  n,  in  Proceedings  of  Amencan 
Antiquarian  Society,  I,  345,  Yale  Biogra- 
phies and  Annals,  I,  6,  19,  and  passim, 
Yale  College  in  Saybrook,  I,  193  n;  H.  M., 
I,  368  n;  Theodore,  II,  293  n. 

Dickinson,  John,  II,  168;  Jonathan,  I,  39, 
188,  192-6,  219  n,  371,  II,  8,  64,  401,  410. 

Dickinson  College,  I,  57,  II,  403. 

Dickson,  S.  H.,  II,  83. 

"Dictionaries,  War  of  the,"  I,  326. 
Dillon,  Judge,  II,  228. 

Dimock,  H.  F.,  I,  358. 

Dining  Hall,  I,  xx,  49,  56,  85,  151,  165,  313, 
367,  II,  29,  177  (see  also  under  Commons). 
Diploma  of  1736,  II,  12. 
Diplomats,  Yale,  II,  130. 
Directory  of  Living  Oraduntes,  I,  368. 


Dismissals  (see  Expulsions). 
Divines,  I,  11-108,  II,  136  n. 
Divinity  Halls,  I,  26,  67,  186,  242;  School,  I, 
XX,  4,  17-8,  18  n,  24  n,  56,  66,  67,  74,  84,  91, 
95,  104,  222,  240,  242,  282,  290,  339, 
366,  II,  31,  118,  296,  376,  Semi-Centennial 
Anniversary,  I,  18  n,  24  n,  93  n,  95  n. 

Division  system,  I,  248-9,  342. 

Divorce  legislation,  I,  72. 

Dix,  J.  A.,  II,  215. 

Doane  College,  II,  401. 

Doanesburg,  N.  Y.,  II,  237. 

Doctorate  of  Philosophy,  I,  189,  242,  242  n, 
271,  281,  II,  3. 

Doctrine  of  Christ,  I,  85. 

Dodd  &  Livingston,  Catalogue,  II,  233  n. 

Donnan,  Prof.,  II,  67  n. 

Doolittle,  Amos,  I,  51,  II,  38,  128  n,  416; 
Benjamin,  II,  12  n. 

Dorchester,  Lord,  II,  235. 

Dorchester,  Mass.,  I,  263. 

Dougherty,  J.  H.,  William  M.  Evarts,  II, 
273  n. 

Douglas,  Stephen,  I,  72;  W.  K.,  II,  400. 

Douglass,  D.  B.,  I,  188,  II,  125  n,  293  n,  403; 
William,  A  Summary  Historical  and 
Political,  I,  42  n,  46  n. 

Dowd,  C.  F.,  I,  101. 

Dramatic  Association,  first  production,  I, 
xxii;  cf.  II,  165-6,  184,  256,  320. 

Drvden,  John,  I,  173,  II,  39,  137;  J.  F., 
II,  401. 

Duane,  W.  I.,  II,  336. 

DuBois,  Henry,  I,  104;  H.  A.,  I,  104;  F.  T., 
II,  398. 

Dudley,  C.  B.,  II,  408. 

Duelling,  I,  55,  316. 

DufBeld,  George,  I,  111,  lUn,  II,  213. 

Duke,  William,  1,  49. 

Dummer,  Jeremiah,  I,  199,  199  n. 

Dunbar,  C.  F.,  I,  359. 

Duncan,  L.  C,  II,  241. 

Durant,  Henrv,  I,  78,  82,  154,  188,  269,  291- 
2,  II,  396,  411. 

Durfee  Hall,  I,  165,  242. 

Durham,  Conn.,  II,  298. 

Dutton,  Clarence  E.,  II,  5,  409;  Henry,  II, 
229,  396. 

Duvckinck,  E.  A.,  Cyclop(pdia  of  American 
Literature,  I,  114  n,  159  n,  203  n,  214  n, 
222  n,  316  n,  319  n,  II,  137  n,  141  n,  316  n. 

Dwight,  H.  G.  O.,  I,  62;  J.  B.,  II,  344  n; 
Sereno,  Edwards'  Memoirs  of  David 
Brainerd,  I,  41,  Life  of  President  Ed- 
wards, I,  20  ff,  26,  38  n,  Theology  [of 
Timothy  Dwight],  I,  226;  Maj.  Timothy, 
I,  214;  Timothy  (1769),  I,  xx,  3,  11, 
12,  17,  18,  25,  "52,  53,  54,  58,  59,  62, 
64,  65,  84,  111,  117,  120,  122,  127, 
128,  130,  133,  134,  137,  208,  214-227,  237, 
288,  295,  324,  365,  371,  II,  14,  15  n,  17,  18, 
19,  22,  83,  96,  109,  113,  162,  192,  196  n, 
199,  222,  278,  300,  301,  305,  308,  309,  316, 


[431] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


318,  348,  356,  365,  366,  368,  376,  379,  393, 
397,  411,  416,  Conquest  of  Canaan,  II, 
318,  Greenfield  Hill,  I,  221,  II,  96  n. 
Travels,  I,  122  n,  II,  194  n,  299  n,  356  n; 
Timothy  (1849),  I,  xxii,  25,  66,  74,  84,  214, 
241,  242,  243,  244,  282,  340,  II,  52,  273, 
348,  397,  Memories  of  Yale  Life  and  Men, 

I,  2,  62  n,  66  n,  84  n,  243  n,  292,  292  n, 
332  n,  334,  340  n,  II,  22  n,  52  n,  74  n,  273  n, 
Theodore  Diright  Woolsey,  Memorial  Ad- 
dress, I,  237  n,  241  n,  244;  Theodore,  II, 
229;  Theodore  W.,  I,  4  n. 

Dwight  Hall,  I,  xxii,  18,  333. 
Dyer,  Ebenezer,  II,  289  n;  Eliphalet,  II,  136, 
289  n. 

East  Rock,  I,  164,  II,  107. 

East  Tennessee  College,  II,  404. 

East  Windsor,  Conn.,  I,  19,  104. 

Eaton,  A.  B.,  II,  416;  D.  C,  II,  86;  E.  D., 

II,  405;  Theophilus,  I,  20,  II,  416. 
Eddy,  H.  T.,  II,  399. 
"Edgewood,"   I,  163. 

Edinburgh  University,  I,  212,  305,  II,  35, 
88,  290  n. 

Edison,  Thomas,  I,  165. 

Education,  Professorship  proposed,  I,  262; 
Report  of  U.  S.  Commissioner,  I,  254  n.  ff, 
278;  Scientific,  II,  14,  379;  State  Board 
of,  I,  361;  Taxation  for,  I,  257;  U.  S. 
Bureau  of,  I,  190,  II,  380,  383;  Yale's 
greatest  contribution  to,  I,   190. 

Educational  Awakening,  I,  256-8;  Leaders, 
I,  187-294;  Movements  led  by  graduates, 

I,  190;   Movements   led   by   Yale,   I,   189, 

II,  380;  Educational  Revieir,  I,  276,  276  n. 
Edwards,  Jonathan,  I,  12,  14,  19-29,  31,  34, 

35,  38,  41,  59,  67,  76,  77,  86,  88,  102,  103, 
109,  194,  237,  276,  287,  295,  369,  II,  136, 
348,  363,  365,  366,  376,  379,  389,  392,  401, 
410,  Distinguishinff  Marks  of  the  Spirit 
of  God,  I,  31,  Freedom  of  the  Will,  I,  25, 
128,  II,  68,  Life  of  Rev.  David  Brainerd, 
I,  25,  38  n,  39  n,  40  n,  41,  Narrative  of 
Many  Surprising  Conversions,  II,  366  n, 
Treatise  Concerning  Religious  Affections, 
I,  25;  Jonathan,  the  Younger,  I,  12,  II, 
306. 

Edwards  Hall,  I,  26,  II,  118. 

Elective  system,  I,  xxii,  220,  332. 

Electoral  Commission,  II,  215,  272,  279. 

Electricity,  II,  15,  112-9. 

Eliot,  C.  W.,  I,  332;  Jared,  I,  193,  202, 
218  n,  II,  3,  6,  8-13,  61,  172,  410,  417; 
John,  I,  14,  346,  II,  8. 

Elizabethan  Club,  I,  xxii,  119,  337;  Litera- 
ture, I,  113. 

Elizabethtown,  N.  J.,  I,  195,  196,  II,  140. 

Ellery,  John,  II,  166. 

Ellin,  Edward,  II,  274. 

Ellington  School,  I,  160. 


Elliott,  John,  II,  398;  Samuel,  I,  63; 
Stephen,  II,  86  n,  178  n,  255,  Botany  of 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  II,  255  n. 

Ellison,  Rev.  Mr.,  I,  136. 

Ellsworth,  H.  L.,  II,  92;  Oliver,  I,  4,  II, 
146,    149,    193,   230  n,   276,   374  n;    W.    W., 

I,  257,  II,  396. 

"Elms,  City  of,"  II,  15  n,  56,  241,  337;  Elms 

of  New  Haven,  by  N.  P.  Willis,  I,  155. 
Elson,  H.  W.,  History  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  196  n, 

II,  179  n. 

Ely,  Henry,  I,  128;  Sumner,  II,  292  n. 
Emancipation  of  Negroes,  I,  33. 
Emerigon,  II,  244. 
Emerson,  Joseph,  Diary  of,  I,  45  n;  Ralph 

W.,  I,  110. 
Emmons,  Nathaniel,  I,  12,  17,  103,  114,  II, 

411;  S.  F.,  II,  80. 
Emory  College,  I,  183,  II,  398. 
Encyclopadia  Americana,  II,  285;  Encyclo- 

padia  Britannica,  II,  50,  52,  67  n,  68,  264, 

264  n. 
Enfield,  Philosophy,  II,  114. 
Engineer,  II,  123. 
Engineering,    II,   2,    125,    125  n;    School   of, 

I,  xxi. 

English,  Faculty  of,  I,  112;  Language, 
Standardizing  of,  I,  190,  II,  380;  Teaching 
of,  begun,  I,  220. 

Eosaurus  acadianus,  II,  70. 

Episcopal  Academy,  Cheshire,  I,  46; 
Church,  American,  I,  ix,  13,  14,  44,  48, 
104,  200,  201,  250,  II,  140,  144,  379; 
Episcopal  Recorder,  II,  47;  Students,  difB- 
culties  of,  II,  144. 

Erlangen,  University  of,  II,  69. 

Erskine,  John,  I,  194. 

Essex  Institute,  Salem,  II,  177  n. 

Esten,  J.  C,  II,  231  n. 

Esty,  C.  C,  II,  343  n. 

Ethnology,  I,  351. 

Eton,  I,  3,  9,  II,  386. 

Euclid,  Burial  of,  I,  358. 

Euripides,  I,  241. 

Eustis,  Abraham,  II,  358. 

Evangelical   Alliance,  I,  94,   105. 

Evarts,  Jeremiah,  I,  15,  228,  289,  II,  268, 
376,  411,  416;  Wm.  M.,  I,  249,  289,  II,  86, 
129,  134,  212,  213,  230,  231  n,  268-275, 
278,  370,  380,  390,  393,  402,  412,  419, 
Oration  before  Linonia  Society,  II,  242  n. 

Everett,   Edward,   I,   150,   II,  241,  390. 

Ewald,  Georg  H.  A.,  I,  284. 

Ewell,  R.  S.,  II,  347. 

Examinations,  I,  21,  88,  114,  115,  247,  264, 
274,  II,  158. 

Exhibition  (see  Junior  Exhibition). 

Expenses,  I,  21,  22  n,  23,  45,  89,  116,  330  n, 

II,  5Q,  57,  164. 

Expulsions  from  College,  I,  36,  39,  140,  167, 

.301-3,  II,  159,  173,  262-3,  349. 
Extradition  laws,  II,  142-3. 


[432] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Faculty,  I,  xx,  4,  95,  137,  189,  332;  Descrip- 
tion of,  I,  161-2;  Records,  I,  7,  167  n, 
176  n,  338  n,  II,  113  n,  270  n,  349  n;  Rela- 
tion to  students,  I,  332  (see  Tutorship). 

Fagging,  I,  xx,  52,  215,  216,  223,  II,  16, 
159,  190,  247,  248,  283. 

Fairfield,  Conn.,  II,  14,  238  n;  N.  Y.,  I,  336. 

Faith,  Characteristic  of  Yale  men,  II,  375- 
377. 

"Famous"  classes,  II,  213,  268,  410. 

Fanning,  Edmund,  I,  47,  II,  238,  356-7,  411. 

Faraday,  Michael,  I,  165. 

Fargo  College,  II,  403. 

Farmington,  Conn.,  II,  163. 

Farnam,  Henry,  II,  416;  H.  W.,  I,  190  n,  II, 
408. 

Farnam  Hall,  I,  xxi,  242,  II,  58. 

Farnsworth,  Joseph,  II,  289  n. 

Farragut,   Admiral,   II,  337. 

Farrand,  Max,  Framing  of  the  Constitution, 
II,    147  n,     186  n,    374  n;     Nathaniel,     II, 

289  n. 

Fare,  H.  A.,  in  Comptes  Rendas,  II,  50  n. 

Fearn,  J.  W.,  II,  130. 

Federal   Government   urged,   I,  320;   Yale's 

Contribution  to,  II,  129-130. 
Felder,  J.  M.,  II,  292  n. 
Fellowship  Club,  II,  95,  320  (see  Linonia). 
Fence,  I,  325,  II,  165  n,  344,  370. 
Ferry,  O.  S.,  II,  294,  397. 
Fichte,  Johann,  I,  26  n. 
Field,   D.    D.,    Genealogy    of    the    Brainerd 

Family,  I,  39n;  Seth,  II,  289  n. 
Fielder,  Herbert,  Life  of  Joseph  E.  Brown, 

II,  225  n. 
Finances  of  University,  I,  xxii,  245,  288,  335, 

II,  241  n. 
Finch,  F.  M.,   I,  111,   155  n,   185-6,  243,  II, 

295,   326,   412,    The   Blue    and    the    Gray, 

I,  111,  185,  244  n,  II,  295,  326,  Hale's  Fate 
and  Fame,  IT,  326. 

Fine  Arts,  I,  119,  239   (see  also  under  Art 

School). 
Fines   (see  Penalties). 
Firearms,  Manufacture  of,  II,  107. 
Fire  Department,  I,  351. 
First  Church  in  New  Haven,  I,  74  (see  also 

Center  Church). 
Fish,  Eliakim,  II,  289  n. 
Fisher,  A.  M.,  I,  69,  223,  II,  19,  84,  87,  195, 

365,  411;  G.  P.,  I,  4,  24  n,  65,  242,  II,  22, 

23,  416,  Life  of  Silliman,  I,  59,  140  n,  227, 

II,  15  n.  ff,  85  n,  86  n,  200  n,  207  n,  253  n, 
Yale  in  its  Relation  to  Theology  and  Mis- 
sions,  Bicentennial    Address,   I,   26  n,   33, 

290  n;  Irving,  I,  190  n,  360  n. 
Fishkill,  N.  Y.,  II,  359. 

Fisk,  F.  W.,  II,  399;  S.  A.,  II,  408. 

Fiske,    John,    II,    186,    Critical    Period    of 

American  History,  II,   186  n;   Phineas,  I, 

197. 
Fitch,   Ebenezer,   I,   188,  313,   II,  400;   Col. 

Eleazar,    II,   288,    289  n;    Rev.    E.    T.,    I, 


161  n,  240,  329;  Jonathan,  II,  307;  Samuel, 

II,  289  n;  Thomas,  II,  162  n,  300,  396. 
Fitzgerald,    O.     P.,    Judge    Longstreet,    I, 

183  n. 
Fitzhugh,  C.  L.,  II,  294. 
Fletcher,  John,  I,  157;  Richard,  I,  327-8. 
Flexner,  Abraham,  II,  7. 
Florida,   I,   352;    Representative   Yale   men, 

II,  398;  University  of,  II,  398. 
Foot,  Lucinda,  I,  115;  S.  A.,  II,  396,  397. 
Football,  I,  xxi,  xxii,  51,  97,  98,  II,  16,  38. 
Foote,  A.  H.,  II,  416. 
Foote  Scholarship,  I,  367. 
Forbes,  I,  52. 
Ford,  Mrs.  E.   E.    (Fowler),  Life  of  Noah 

Webster,  I,  316  n,  321,  II,  153  n;  Seabury, 

II,  403;  T.  G.,  II,  45  n. 
Foreign  Missionaries,  Instructions  to,  I,  92- 

3;   Missionaries,   United    Band   of,   I,   90; 

Missionary   Society,   I,  98,   186;   Missions, 

I,  XX,  15-7,  34,  90,  92,  93,  105,  190,  II,  343, 
379;  Missions,  American  Board  of,  I,  15, 
91,  94,  289;  Missions  Library,  I,  17. 

Forest  School,  I,  xxii,   190,   190  n,   II,   1,  4, 

43,  74,  377. 
Forrest,    Edwin,    I,    157-9;    Mrs.    Edwin,   I, 

157-9. 
Fort  Erie,  II,  334. 
Fort  Hale  Park,  I,  164. 
Fort  Louis,  Oswego,  II,  300. 
Fort  St.  George,  II,  359. 
Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  II,  360. 
Fortieth  Parallel  Survey,  II,  5,  78  fF. 
Fortnightly  Review,  II,  265  n. 
Forum,  I,  275  n. 
Fowler,   Bancroft,   I,   59,   140;   Stephen,   II, 

14. 
Fox,  George,  I,  133. 
Framingham,  Mass.,  I,  88. 
France,    Conditions    in,    I,    143-5,    II,    52-3; 

Ministers  to  (see  Barlow  and  Deane). 
Franklin,   Benjamin,   I,    133,   201,   203,   300, 

305,   II,    10,    11  n,    19,    168,    169,   358,  390; 

Fabian,   Life    of   Daniel   Coit    Gilman,    I, 

264  n. 
Franklin  College,  O.,  II,  403;  Hall,  II,  20; 

House,  II,  241. 
Frear,  W.  F.,  II,  231  n,  398. 
Freedom  of  the  Press  suit,  II,  281. 
Freehold,  N.  J.,  I,  39. 
Free-masonry,  I,  62,  63,  II,  305. 
Free-Soilers,*  I,  182. 
Fremont,  J.  C,  II,  351. 
French   and    Indian    Wars,   I,   xix,   II,   287, 

288-9,   299,   302;    Revolution,   I,    121,   144, 

II,  15,  255,  378. 

Freshman  Experiences,  I,  138,  154,  162-3, 
214,  II,  135,  190,  198,  247,  276,  332;  Rules, 
I,  215-6,  II,  165,  248  (see  under  Disci- 
pline, Kxaniinations,  Fagging,  and  Laws). 

Frisbee,  S.  H.,  II,  402. 

Fuller,  Andrew,  I,  34,  35,  59. 

Fullerton,  G.  S.,  II,  409. 


[433] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Fulton,  John,  Memoirs  of  Frederick  A.  P. 

Barnard,  I,  247  n,  249,  250  n,  252;  Robert, 

I,  133,  135,  II,  91,  110,  115,  244. 
"Fundamental   Orders   of   Connecticut,"    II, 

373. 
Furness,     Horace,      Variorum     edition     of 

Shakespeare,  I,  340. 

Gadsden,  Christopher  E.,  II,  404;  family, 
I,  227;  James,  II,  93,  130,  292  n,  360,  411. 

"Gadsden  Purchase,"  II,  3G0. 

Gaines,  M.  R.,  II,  404. 

Gale,  Benjamin,  II,  6,  10,  96. 

Gallatin,  Albert,  II,  195. 

Gallaudet,  E.  M.,  I,  234,  Life  of  Thomas 
Hopkins  Gallaudet,  I,  228n.  ff;  T.  H.,  I, 
190,  228-236,  255,  371,  II,  278,  411. 

Gardiner,  J.  T.,  II,  77. 

Gardiner,  Me.,  I,  290. 

Garfield,  J.  A.,  II,  229,  367,  389. 

Garrison,  W.  L.,  II,  337;  AV.  E.,  II,  402. 

Gassendus,  Astronomy,  I,  21. 

Gates,  Horatio,  I,  310,  II,  161. 

Gaudrv,  La  Nature,  II,  74  n. 

Gazette  of  United  States,  II,  139. 

General  Education  Board,  I,  270;  Theologi- 
cal Seminary,  I,  104. 

Geneva,  I,  356;  Arbitration  Tribunal,  II, 
278,  280. 

Geography,  Father  of  American,  I,  287,  II, 
112. 

Geological  Society  of  America,  II,  408; 
Society  of  London,  II,  74;  Geological 
Survey  of  California,  II,  41;  Survey,  U.  S., 
I,  190,  II,  5,  41,  72,  76  ff,  379. 

Geology,  II,  4,  5,  31-36,  37-42,  380;  Geology, 
Journal  of,  II,  34  n;  Geology  of  Connecti- 
cut, bv  J.  G.  Percival,  I,  151. 

George  III,  I,  210,  211;  Statue  of,  II,  160. 

Georgia,  University  of,  I,  129,  188,  II,  183, 
185,  225,  390,  398. 

Germantown  Academy,  II,  150. 

Gerrv,  Elbridge,  II,  356. 

Gese'nius,  F.  H.  W.,  I,  284,  366. 

Gettysburg,  I,  352,  II,  391. 

Gibbon,  Edward,   II,  245. 

Gibbs,  George,  Memoirs  of  the  Adminis- 
trations of  Washinqton  and  John  Adams, 
I,  121  n,  II,  104  n,  189  n,  190  n;  Col. 
George,  II,  5;  Josiah  W.,  I,  92,  296, 
365,   366,    H,   64  n,   411,   416;   J.    Willard, 

I,  3,  296,  327,  II,  1,  8,  52,  64-9,  93,  370, 
378,  379,  409,  412,  416,  417,  Memoirs  of 
Hubert  Anson  Newton,   II,  50  ff;   O.   'W., 

II,  36;  Wolcott,  II,  69  n. 

Gibbs  Collection  of  Minerals,  I,  xx,  II,  21, 
31,  200;  Memorial  Fellowship,  II,  69. 

Gibson,  R.  L.,  II,  295,  361,  399,  412;  T.  M., 
II,  274. 

Gies,  W.  J.,  II,  408. 

Gilbert,  Ezekiel,  I,  315;  AV.  T.,  I,  101. 

Gilbert   Islands,  I,  99. 

Gilbertese,  I,  16,  99,  100,  101. 


Gildersleeve,  Basil,  I,  269. 
Gillette,  Francis,  II,  397. 
Gilman,    D.    C,    I,    86,    109,    188,    190,    259, 
264-272,  283,  291,  371,  II,  2,  3,  32,  59,  61, 

180,  370,  396,  400,  407,  412;  Bishop 
Berkeley's  Gifts  to  Yale,  I,  208  n,  Life  of 
James  Dicight  Dana,  I,  2  n,  271,  II,  32  ff, 

Sheffleld    Scientific    School,    I,    242  n,    II, 

3  n,  4  n,  59  n. 
Gilman  Fund,  I,  268. 
Girard  College,  II,  403. 
Gladstone,  W.   E.,   II,  274. 
Glastonbury,  Conn.,  I,  126,  314,  II,  237. 
Glee     Club,     I,    xxi     (see     also     Beethoven 

Society). 
Goethe, 'l,  113,  II,  39,  384. 
Goldsmith,  Oliver,  I,  173. 
Goodell,  William,  I,  6-2. 
Goodrich,    Charles,    Letter    from,    I,    52  n; 

Chauncey,  II,  397;  C.  A.,  I,  12  n,   18,  91, 

153,    297,    321,    329,    II,    19  n,    136,    416; 

Elizur,  I,  301,  II,  103,  192. 
Goodspeed,  G.  S.,  I,  286. 
Goodyear,  Charles,  II,  92,  416. 
Gorgas,  Josiah,  II,  266,  267. 
Goshen,  Conn.,  I,  44,  II,  163;  N.  Y.,  I,  317. 
Gottingen,  I,  356. 
Gould,  George,  I,  173;  James,  I,  51,  II,  121, 

200,  228,  228  n,  255-260,  368,  411,  419. 
Graduates,   First   catalogue   of,   I,   xix    (see 

Alumni). 
Graduating  Students,  Advice  to,  I,  315-6. 
Graca  Minora,  I,  114  n,  247. 
Graham,  Chauncey,  II,  289  n;  Sarah,  I,  356. 
Grand  Island  College,  II,  401. 
Granger,  Francis,  II,  130;  Gideon,  II,  130. 
Grant,  Robert,  Oration  on  death  of,  by  Eli 

Whitney,  II,  105  n;  U.  S.,  II,  215,  279. 
Granville,  W.  A.,  II,  404. 
Graves  of  Eminent  Yale  Men,  II,  413,  415, 

416. 
Gray,  Asa,  IL  36,  86;  Ebenezer,  II,  292  n; 

Thomas,  I,  173. 
Great  Barrington,  Mass.,  I,  32. 
Grebo  Scriptures,  I,  62. 
Greek,   Importance   of,   I,   275,  332;   Letter 

Fraternities,    I,    xxi,    346;    optional    for 

admission,  I,  xxii;  Scriptures,  Modern,  I, 

62;   Testament,   I,   128,   197,  247,  315,   II, 

151    247    248. 
Greeley,    Horace,    II,    226,    339,    340,    341, 

342,   Writings  of  Cassius  Marcellus  Clay, 

II,  339  n,  340  n. 
Greene,   Nathanael,    I,    124-5,   130,   132,   134, 

307-9,  310,  II,  105,  111,  185,  311,  315,  316; 

Ray,  II,  404. 
Greenfield  Hill,  Conn.,  I,  221,  237. 
Greenwich,  Mass.,  II,  152. 
Greenwood,  J.  M.,  I,  276  n. 
Grenville's  Stamp  Duties,  II,  176. 
Grldlev,  Elihu,  II,  239. 
Griffin^  E.  D.,  I,  15,  103,  II,  400,  411,  The 

Kingdom  of  Christ,  I,  15. 


[434] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Grimke  family,  I,  227;  T.  S.,  I,  54. 

Grinnell,  G.  B.,  II,  70  n.  ff. 

Griswold,   Roger,  II,  130,  396;  Stanley,  II, 

403. 
Groton,  Conn.,  II,  164,  171. 
Group  System  of  Studies,  I,  189,  II,  3. 
Grout,  Lewis,  I,  6:2. 
Grove  Street  Cemetery,  I,  55,  68,  288,  307, 

II,  108,  306,  313,  354,  413,  415,  416. 
Guilford,  Conn.,  I,  197,  199,  II,  8,  310. 
Gulliver,  J.  P.,  II,  398. 
Guthrie,  Geography,  I,   128. 
Gymnasium,  I,  xx,  xxi,  274,  II,  38. 

Haddam,  Conn.,  I,  36. 

Hadley,  A.  T.,  I,  xxii,  255,  341,  344,  II,  60, 
365,*397,  408;  James,  I,  243,  296,  336-344, 
371,  II,  368,  369,  407,  409,  412,  416. 

Hageman,  J.  F.,  Princeton  and  its  Institu- 
tions, I,  195  n. 

Hague,  Arnold,  II,  5,  76,  408,  409;  J.  D., 
II,  81,  Clarence  King  Memoirs,  II,  77  n.  ff. 

Haight,  H.  H.,  II,  396. 

Hale,  E.  E.,  II,  318;  Enoch,  II,  318;  Mat- 
thew, II,  242;  Nathan,  I,  185,  II,  183, 
291,  295,  317-331,  359,  365,  369,  378,  389, 
393,  411,  419,  Statue,  II,  128  n;  Richard, 
II,  317,  322. 

Hall,  A.,  Life  of  Sylvester  Judd,  I,  185  n, 
II,  276,  276  n;  B.  H.,  Collection  of  College 
Words  and  Customs,  I,  130  n,  II,  278  n; 
Elihu,  II,  289  n;  George,  II,  292  n;  Gor- 
don, I,  62;  John,  I,  160;  Lyman,  II,  131, 
158  n,  219-220,  290,  398,  411;  Sherman,  I, 
62. 

Hall  of  Fame,  I,  3,  232,  II,  91,  109,  110  n. 

Halleck,  Fitz-Greene,  I,  182. 

Halley's  Comet,  II,  85. 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  I,  55,  320,  II,  147, 
155,  188,  193,  389. 

Hamilton  College,  I,  188,  289,  290,  II,  128  n, 
402. 

Hamlin,  Hannibal,  II,  341. 

Hamm,  M.  A.,  Famous  Families  of  New 
York,  II,  232  n. 

Hammond,  Algebra,  I,  128;  J.  H.,  II,  408. 

Hampden-Sidney  College,  II,  405. 

Hampton  Institute,  I,  102. 

Hancock,  Letter  of  John,  II,  303  n, 

Hanover,  N.  H.,  I,  97,  210. 

Harding,  Charles,  I,  100. 

Hare's  Chemical  Laboratory,  II,  40. 

Harland,  Edward,  II,  294;*Tom,  I,  170. 

Harper,  W.  R.,  I,  61,  188,  190,  241  n,  281- 
286,  296,  371,  II,  364  n,  368,  399,  412, 
Harper,  William  R.,  Memorials  of,  I, 
283  n. 

Harper's  P'erry,  II,  266-7. 

Harper's  Magazine,  I,   164,   172,  II,  128. 

Harris,  J.  C,  I,  183;  Samuel,  I,  4  n,  II,  416; 
W.  T.,  I,  273-280,  297,  371,  II,  364  n,  380, 
407,  412. 

Harrison,     President     Benjamin,     II,    285; 


Benjamin,  II,  168;  F.  B.,  II,  404  n;  H.  B., 
II,  397;  Provost,  I,  353;  W.  H.,  II,  342. 

Hart,  A.  B.,  I,  367  n;  John,  I,  192;  Levi, 
I,  34,  35;  Mrs.,  I,  34. 

Hartford,  I,  19  n,  68,  84,  120,  121,  132,  134, 
200,  231,  232,  237,  251,  254,  262,  317,  321, 
346,  349,  356,  II,  83,  156,  163,  193,  197,  283, 
301,  327,  329,  331,  373;  Hartford  Courant, 

I,  348  n;  Grammar  School,  I,  228;  "Hart- 
ford   Wits,"    I,    110,    111,    120,    121,    218, 

II,  83,  193,  315. 
Harvard,  John,  II,  392. 

Harvard  Law  School,  II,  227,  258;  L^niver- 
sity,  I,  3,  74,  86,  88,  109,  110,  112,  113  n, 
151,  179,  189,  190,  192,  193,  194,  210,  225, 
243  n,  261,  267,  271,  328,  332,  338,  339,  346, 
359,  366,  II,  8,  21,  35,  40,  41,  42,  74,  132, 
178  n,  220,  245,  251,  274,  286,  290  n,  343, 
372,  374,  377,  381,  388,  389,  390,  391,  394. 

Hasbrouck,  A.  B.,  II,  401. 

Hastings,  C.  S.,  II,  69,  409. 

Hatfield,  Mass.,  I,  192. 

Hatoyama,  Kazuo,  II,  406. 

Havana  Expedition,  II,  288,  300. 

Havens,  C.  H.,  II,  292  n. 

Haverhill,  Mass.,  I,  321. 

Hawaii,  I,  16,  51,  97-9;  Representative  Yale 
men,  II,  398. 

Hawaiian  Scriptures,  I,  16,  62. 

Hawley,  Gideon,  II,  289  n;  Joseph,  II,  289  n, 
356,  '410. 

Hawthorne,  Nathaniel,  I,  110,  II,  352. 

Hay,  John,  II,  78,  81. 

Hay-Pauncefote  Agreement,  II,  210. 

Hayes,  R.  B.,  I,  334,  II,  215,  271,  279. 

Hayner,  H.  Z.,  II,  231  n,  400. 

Hazing,  I,  153,  214,  II,  165  (see  Fagging). 

Health,  Public,  I,  190  n. 

Heart,  Jonathan,  II,  288. 

Hebrew,  I,  60,  207,  282,  284  and  passim. 

Hebrew-Spanish  Scriptures,  I,  62. 

Hedge,  Logic,  I,  337. 

Heerebord,  Logic,  I,  197. 

Hegelianism,  I,  276,  276  n. 

Heidelberg  University,  I,  352,  II,  65,  71,  74. 

Hempstead,  Account  of  Hale  by,  II,  326  n. 

Hcnnen,  Alfred,  II,  292  n. 

Henry,  Joseph,  II,  244;  Patrick,  II,  176. 

Heresy  trial  of  Bushnell,  I,  68. 

Heri)in,  John,  II,  289  n. 

Herrick,  E.  C,  I,  272,  H,  4,  51. 

Herschel,  John,  II.  87. 

Hexahedron  Club,  I,  70,  239. 

Higgins,  Anthony,  II,  398. 

Higliland  Agricultural  Societv,  II,  88;  Col- 
lege, II,  399. 

Hillhouse  family,  11,  51;  James  (1773),  I, 
342,  II,  15  n",  238,  323,  359,  397,  416; 
James  A.  (1749),  1,301;  James  A.  (1808), 
I,  182-3,  II,  411,  416;  property,  I,  xxii. 

Hillyer,  Andrew,   II,  289  n. 

Hirsch.  Emil,  I,  284. 

Historia  Sacra,  I,  337. 


[  435] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Historic  Universities  in  a  Democracy,  II, 
381-394. 

Historical  Magazine,  I,  122  n;  Historical 
Society  of  Penn.  Proceedings,  I,  293  n. 

Hitchcock,  Daniel,  II,  291;  Edward,  II,  5, 
86-7,  89,  411,  Lectures  on  Health,  I,  88, 
Reminiscences  of  Amherst  College,  II, 
86  n;  Henrv,  II,  407;  H.  L.,  II,  403; 
Peter,  II,  231  n,  403;  Reuben,  II,  368; 
S.  J.,  II,  283. 

Hoadlv,  George,  I,  141. 

Hoar,  "Senator  G.  F.,  I,  225,  347. 

Hobart,  J.  S.,  II,  402. 

Hobart  College,  I,  104. 

Holden,  E.  S.,  I,  181. 

Holland,  Henrv,  II,  274;  J.  G.,  I,  74,  75; 
W.  M.,  I,  122,  123. 

Hollev,  Horace,  II,  399. 

Hollidav,  F.  W.,  II,  405. 

Hollis,  Isaac,  I,  28. 

Hollis,  N.  H.,  I,  323. 

HoUister,  G.  H.,  I,  364. 

Hollv,  C.  W.,  I,  138. 

Holmes,  Abiel,  I,  110,  208,  295,  299,  307, 
364-5,  II,  411,  American  Annals,  I,  364, 
365,  II,  245,  Life  of  Ezra  Stiles,  I,  298  ff; 
John,  Rhetorick,  I,  128;  O.  W.,  I,  8,  110, 
307,  364,  II,  214,  241,  317,  Astrcea,  I,  364  n. 

Home  Journal,  I,  81  n,  156. 

Homer,  I,  140,  197,  341. 

Honolulu,  I,  97,  99,  101. 

Hood,  J.  B.,  II,  346. 

Hooker,  Joseph,  II,  362;  Thomas,  II,  373. 

Hopkins,  Daniel,  II,  166;  Edward,  I,  331; 
Lemuel,  I,  llln,  121;  Mark,  II,  220,  367; 
Rev.  Samuel,  I,  12,  22,  30-5,  37,  103,  369, 
II,  132  n,  366,  367,  410,  Historical  Memoirs 
relating    to    the    Houssatunnack    Indians, 

I,  102  n.   System    of   Divinity,    I,    32,    59; 
Rev.   Samuel    (1749),   I,  301;   Samuel  M., 

II,  107,  255;  Timothy,  I,  30. 

Hopkins  Grammar  School,  I,  219,  237,  254, 

331,  II,  64,  68. 
Hopkinson,    Francis,    Battle    of    the    Kegs, 

II,  99. 
Hoppin,  Benjamin,  I,  242;  J.  M.,  II,  416. 
Horace,  Odes,  I,  117,  128,  139. 
Horton,  Abigail,  I,  43. 
Hosmer,  S.  T.,  II,  230  n,  397. 
Hotchkiss'  School,  Miss,  I,  92. 
Houdon,  I,  134. 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Co.,  I,  180,  181. 
Housatonic  Indians,  I,  24,  27,  102  n. 
Howe,  Gen.,  I,  147,  II,  98,  152;  Rev.  Joseph, 

I,  120. 

Howells,  \V.  D.,  II,  78,  81. 

Hovt,  J.  G.,  II,  45,  401. 

Hubbard,  Bela,  II,  166;  John,  I,  2  n,  II, 
137  n;  J.  S.,  II,  51,  87,  409;  Leverett,  II, 
289  n;  Mr.,  I,  53;  Nathaniel,  II,  289  n; 
R.   D.,   II,  396;    R.   W.,   II,  94;    Ruggles, 

II,  292  n;  S.  D.,  II,  130. 
Hubbell,  H.  L.,  II,  399. 


Hudibras,  I,  122. 

Hudson,  W.  W.,  II,  401. 

Huggins,  Zenas,  II,  289  n. 

Hughes,  C.  E.,  II,  132;  Thomas,  II,  274. 

Hull,  Isaac,  II,  358;  William,  II,  290,  291  n, 
292,  311,  323,  357-8,  400,  411,  Revolution- 
ary Services  and  Civil  Life  of  General 
William  Hull,  II,  358. 

Humboldt,  Alexander,  II,  117,  Cosmos,  I, 
275,  351. 

Humboldt  library,  I,  367. 

Hume,  David,  II,  242,  History  of  England, 

I,  337;  R.  A.,  I,  16. 

Humphrey,  Heman,  I,  234,  II,  400,  Life  and 
Labors  of  Gallaudet,  I,  230  n,  234. 

Humphreys,  Daniel,  II,  308;  David,  I,  111, 
llln,    121,    130,    132,    133,    134,   218,   220, 

II,  8,  78,  130,  290,  291  n,  308-316,  366, 
378,  393,  411,  416,  419,  Happiness  of 
America,  II,  311  n;  Hector,  II,  400;  Hum- 
phreys Family  in  America,  I,  131. 

Hun,  Henry,  II,  408. 

Hungarian  language,  I,  115. 

Hunt,  Seth,  I,  215  n;  T.  S.,  II,  5,  8,  89, 
412;  Ward,  II,  257;  W.  H.,  II,  130,  404. 

Huntington,  Daniel,  II,  128  n;  Ebenezer,  II, 
291;  Enoch,  I,  214,  II,  184;  Gen.  Jabez, 
II,  290;  Jabez  W.,  II,  257,  397;  Joseph, 
II,  317,  318;  Samuel,  II,  83,  195,  231  n, 
292  n,  403. 

Huntington,  Conn.,  II,  302. 

Huntington,  L.  I.,  II,  326. 

Huxley,  T.  H.,  I,  165,  II,  72,  72  n,  73. 

Hyde,  J.  N.,  II,  407. 

Hymnology,  I,  111,  llln,  184. 

Ice,  Invention  of  artificial,  II,  92,  126. 
Idaho,  Representative  Yale  men,  II,  398. 
"Ik  Marvel"   (see  Mitchell,  Donald  G.). 
Illinois  Band,  I,  290,  II,  296,  395;  College, 

I,   188,  290,  II,  398;   Representative  Yale 

men,  II,  398-9. 
Imperial   Federation,   British,   II,  235. 
Independence    Hall,   II,   149,  391;   War  of, 

(see    Revolutionary   War). 
Independent,  I,  69  n,  70,  73. 
India,  I,  16. 
Indian    Antiquities,    I,    352;    Education,    I, 

190,  210,  211,  212,  II,  224,  390. 
Indiana,  Representative  Yale  men,  II,  399; 

University  of,  I,  289,  II,  399. 
Indians,    I,' 33,   39,   70,    102,    194,   213,   287, 

297,   345  ff,   351,   352,    II,   219,   288-9,   299, 

360,   390;    Delaware,    I,   351;    Housatonic, 

I,  24,  27,  102  n,  138;  Iroquois,  II,  162; 
Mohawk,    I,    28,    136;    Mohegan,    I,    210, 

II,  145;  New  Jersey,  I,  40,  42;  Ojibbewa, 
I,  69;  Seminole,  II,'360;  Sioux,  II,  73,  74; 
Six   Nations,   II,   162. 

Indo-European  languages,  I,  282. 
Infant  Precocity,  I,  114,  115,  II,  87. 
Infidelity  prevalent,  I,  53,  224. 


[436] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Influence  of  Yale  Graduates  through 
National  Societies,  II,  407-9;  of  Yale 
Graduates   through   States,   II,  395-406. 

Ingelow,  Jean,  Poems,  I,  340. 

Ingersoll,  C.  R.,  II,  396;  Jared  (the  Elder), 
II,  281;  Jared,  II,  131,  146,  230,  281-2, 
411;  Jonathan,  II,  289  n;  Judge  Jonathan, 
I,  183;  R.  I.,  II,  130;  R.  G.,  II,  223. 

Institut  de  France,  II,  74. 

Intellectual  Conditions,  I,  19  fP,  51,  139-140, 
161-2,  247  ff,  329  and  passim. 

International  Law  Association,  II,  407; 
Society   for  Testing  Materials,  II,  408. 

Invention,  Yale's  Contribution  to,  II,  91- 
128,  380. 

Inventors,  II,  91-126. 

I'On,  J.  B.,  II,  292  n. 

Iowa  Band,  II,  395;  Geological  Survey,  II, 
40;  Representative  Yale  men,  II,  399; 
University  of,  II,  399. 

Ipswich,  Mass.,  II,  179. 

Irvine,  Gen.,  II,  335. 

Irving,  Washington,   I,   110,   163,  Columbus, 

I,  337,  Knickerbocker,  I,  337. 
Irwin,  A.  B.,  II,  399. 

Isaacs,  Isaac,  II,  289  n. 

Isham,  Chester,  I,  69,  71,  239;  Jirah,  II, 
292  n;  Samuel,  II,  127  n.  History  of  Amer- 
ican Painting,  II,  115,  116  n,  127  n. 

Ives,  C.  B.,  Bust  of  Taylor,  I,  67,  Bust  of 
Silliman,  II,  23;  Eli,  I,  92,  148,  223,  336, 

II,  7  n,  86  n,  241,  407,  416. 

Jackson,  Andrew,  II,  205,  284,  360;  H.  R., 

II,  130,  287;  "Stonewall,"  II,  345,  347. 
Japan,  I,  16,  105,  106;  Representative  Yale 

men,  II,  406. 
Jarves  Collection,  I,  119,  166. 
Jarvis,  Abraham,  I,  48,  II,  398. 
Jay,  John,  I,  138,  319,  319  n,  320,  II,  141  n, 

168,    170,   279,   389;    William,    I,    138,    II, 

132  n. 
Jefl'erson,  Thomas,  I,  133,  II,  105,  390. 
Jefferson    College,    Miss.,    II,    400;    Medical 

College,  I,  352. 
Jena,  University  of,  I,  277. 
Jenkins,   Horatio,   Jr.,   II,  294;   J.   S.,   Life 

of  Calhoun,  II,  199. 
Jerome,   I,  284. 
Jesse,  Memoirs   of  Celebrated  Etonians,  I, 

10. 
Jessup,  H.  H.,  I,  16. 
Jesup,  Ebenezer,  II,  289  n. 
Johns  Hopkins  University,  I,  188,  264,  269, 

270,  271,  283,  II,  1,  380,  400,  409;  Johns 
Hopkins  University  Circular,  I,  265  n, 
269  n,  271  n;  Johns  Hopkins  University 
Quarterly,  I,  271. 

Johnson,  A.  S.,  II,  231  n,  402;  Andrew,   II, 

271,  272,  273;  Ben,  II,  39;  Decision  in 
Cotton-Gin  Case  by  Judge,  II,  106; 
Nathan,  II,  292  n;  Rev.  Sanmel,  I,  13,  14, 
20,   188,   197-205,  219  n,  276  n,  371,   II,  9, 


144,  145,  363,  366,  402,  410;  S.  W.,  I,  189, 
190,  II,  3,  3  n,  4,  4  n,  36,  55-63,  88,  364  n, 
412,  416,  417;  Stephen,  I,  349;  William, 
II,  228,  243;  Gen.  William,  II,  299,  300; 
W.  S.,  I,  204,  205,  208,  II,  131,  144-9, 
231  n,  366,  380,  397,  402,  410,  417. 
Johnston,   Alexander,   II,   373,   Connecticut, 

I,  225  n,    II,    146  n,   300  n,   373  n;    H.    P., 

II,  327,  329,  Memoirs  of  Col.  Benjamin 
Tallmadge,  II,  359  n,  Nathan  Hale,  II, 
190  n,  318  n.  ff,  Yale  in  the  American 
Revolution,  I,  132  n,  213  n,  220  n,  313  n, 
II,  100  n,  162  n,  190  n,  193  n,  221  n,  238  n, 
290,  290n.  ff,  303  n,  304  n,  306,  307  n, 
310  n.  ff,  356  n;  AV.  P.,  I,  188,  II,  295,  399. 

Jones,  C.  C,  Sketches  of  Georgia  Delegates 
to  Continental  Congress,  II,  185  n,  187  n, 
220  n;  Joel,  II,  403;  J.  T.,  I,  G-2;  Samuel, 
II,  46;  Seaborn,  II,  188;  Thomas,  II,  238, 
291  n. 

Josephus,  I,  323. 

Journal  of  Speculative  Philosophy,  I,  275, 
278. 

Journalism,  I,  74,  II,  139  n,  383. 

Journals  founded  by  Yale  men,  I,  190  (see 
American  Journal  of  Science). 

Judd,  A.  F.,  II,  231  n,  398;  Bethel,  II,  400; 
Orange,  II,  4  n;  Sylvester,  I,  88,  184-5,  II, 
412. 

Judson,  Adoniram,  I,  62;   F.   N.,  II,  407. 

Junior  Exhibition,  I,  147,  177,  184,  239,  247, 
254,  266,  273,  294,  329,  351,  II,  26,  43, 
49,  64,  70,  120,  208,  224,  270,  277;  Prome- 
nade,  I,   170. 

Jurists  and  Lawyers,  II,  227-286. 

Kames,  H.  H.,  Elements  of  Criticism,  II, 
320. 

Kane,  E.  K.,  II,  398. 

Kansas  Agricultural  College,  II,  409; 
Representative  Yale  men,  II,  399;  LTni- 
versity  of,  II,  399. 

Kant,  Immanuel,  I,  26. 

Kaunameek,  Mass.,  I,  39,  42. 

Kean,  John,  II,  401. 

Keator,  F.  W.,  II,  405. 

Keats,  John,  I,  173. 

Keller,  A.  G.,  I,  359,  362,  363. 

Kellogg,  Congressman,  II,  344  n;  Martin, 
I,  181,  291,  II,  396. 

Kelly,  N.  B.,  II,  403. 

Kelvin,  Lord,  II,  69. 

Kempe,  J.  T.,  II,  236. 

Kennct,  White,  I,  199. 

Kensington,  Conn.,  I,  146. 

Kent,  Elisha,  II,  237;  James,  I,  3,  142,  224  n, 
225,  226  n,  256,  310  n,  II,  115,  231  n,  237- 
246,  365,  379,  380,  389,  393,  402,  411,  419, 
Commentaries  on  Lav\  II,  68,  228,  237  ff, 
258;  Moss,  II,  237;  William,  Memoirs  and 
Letters  of  James  Kent,  II,  239  n.  ff. 

Kent,  Conn.,  I,  39. 


[437] 


IxNDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Kent  Club,  II,  245;  Professorship,  II,  2-29, 

24:5. 

Kentucky  Asylum   for  Deaf  Mutes,  I,  231; 

Representative  Yale  men,  II,  399. 
Kenvon  College,  I,  188,  II,  403. 
Kerr,  J.  H.,  II,  396. 
Kettering,  England,  I,  34. 
Killingworth,  Conn.,  I,  192,  193,  196,  II,  8-9. 
King,  Clarence,  I,  190,  II,  3  n,  3,  41,  76-82, 

93,    364  n,    409,    412,    417;    Jonas,    I,    62; 

Rufus,  II,  147. 
King's   American   Regiment,   I,  47;   College 

(N.  Y.),  I,  188,  197,  201,  II,  147  (see  also 

Columbia   University);   College,  N.   S.,   I, 

252. 
Kingsboro,  N.  Y.,  II,  55. 
Kingsbury,  Cyrus,  I,  62;  F.  J.,  II,  407. 
Kingsford,    AVilliam,    History    of    Canada, 

II    235    235  n. 
Kingslev,'  J.   L.",  I,   138,   139,   144,   162,  223, 

264,  327,  329,  337,  365,  II,  411,  416,  Life 

of   Ezra   Stiles,   I,   298n.  flf;    W.    L.,    Yale 

College,    I,    65  n,    66  n,    103  n,    187,    188  n, 

220  n,  325  n,  341,  365  n,  II,  26  n,  44  n,  84  n, 

86  n,  92  n,    123  n,   175  n,   239  n,   241  n,   269 

n.  S,  354  n,  364  n. 
Kip,  W.  I.,  I,  14  n,  II,  396. 
Kirtland,   J.    P.,    II,   85,   409,   411;    Samuel, 

II,  86  n. 
Kirtland  Hall,  II,  85. 
Kittredge,  A.  B.,  II,  404. 
Knickerbocker,  I,  164. 
Knight,  F.  I.,  II,  407;  Jonathan,  I,  92,  II, 

7n,  407,  416. 
Knowlton,   Col.,   II,   325;    M.   P.,   II,   231  n, 

400. 
Know-Nothingism,  I,  184. 
Knox  CoUege,  II,  398. 
Koons,  B.  F.,  II,  397. 

Laboratory,  I,  xxii,  II,  2,  15,  20,  57,  58,  62, 
63  and  passim;  Quadrangle,  I,  xxii. 

Labor  Legislation,  I,  190  n. 

Ladd,  G.  T.,  I,  276  n. 

La  Farge,  John,  II,  81. 

Lafavette,  Marquis  of,  I,  144,  II,  168. 

I>afavette  College,  Pa.,  II,  403. 

Lake'  George,  Battle  of,  II,  301;  Charles 
College,  La.,  II,  399;  Forest  LTniversity, 
II,  399;  Superior   Exploration,   II,  40. 

Land  Book,  II,  9  n. 

Landscape  Architecture  (see  under  F.  L. 
Olmsted). 

Lane  Theological  Seminary,  I,  55,  II,  403. 

Language  Signs,  I,  106    (see  Philology). 

Lanman,  Charles,  Dictionary  of  U.  S.  Con- 
gress, II,  132;  Charles  R.,  II,  408;  James, 
II,  397. 

Lamed,  W.  A.,  II,  416. 

Lathrop,  J.  H.,  I,  188,  289-290,  II,  399,  401, 
405,  411;  Joseph,  I,  11  n. 

Latin,  I,  69,  207,  275,  292,  332,  II,  157,  158. 

Laval  University,  II,  89. 


Law,  John,  II,  289  n. 

Law,   First   Yale   graduate   to   practice,   II, 

230;  School,  I,  xx,  333,   II,  228,  229,  252, 

258,  274. 
Lawrance  Hall,  I,  333. 
Laws  (see  College  Laws). 
Lawyers  and  Jurists,  II,  227-286;  Fees  of, 

II,    163;    Lawyers,    Great    American,    II, 

228  n. 
Leach,  Orlando,  II,  71  n. 
Leaming,  Jeremiah,  I,  13,  44,  47. 
Learned,    H.    B.,    The    President's    Cabinet, 

II,  154  n. 
Leatherstocking  Tales.  I,  136,  143. 
Leavenworth,  Mark,  II,  189,  289  n. 
Leavitt,  Joshua,  I,  208,  II,  132  n,  139  n. 
Lebanon,   Conn.,   I,   209,   210,    II,    150,    157, 

247;  Valley  College,  II,  404. 
Le  Conte,  Joseph,  II,  34. 
Ledyard,  Augustus,  H,  296;  John,  I,  97. 
Lee,"  Arthur,   II,   168,    169;  Charles,  I,  312; 

Ezra,  II,  98;  Jonathan,  II,  289  n;   R.  E., 

I,  xxi,  II,  109;  S.  H.,  I,  274  n,  II,  400. 
I>eeds,  England,  II,  124. 
Legare,  John  Bassnet,  I,  227;  John  Berwick, 

I,  227. 
Leibnitz,  I,  26. 

Leicester  Academy,  II,  120. 

Leipsic,  University  of,  I,  115,  240,  II,  57,  66. 

Leland,  C.  G.,  I,  355. 

Letcher,  John,  II,  267. 

Levermore,  C.  H.,  II,  403. 

Leverrier,  Urbain,  II,  50. 

Lewis,  C.  T.,  I,  101,  II,  402;  John,  II,  96. 

Lexington,  Battle  of,  I,  309,  310,  313,  II, 
167,  191,  324. 

Liang  Tun  Yen,  II,  406. 

Liberia,  II,  416. 

Liberty  Hall,  II,  141,  141  n. 

Library,  I,  xxi,  20  n,  26,  46,  84,  91,  104, 
117, ' 153,  155,  160,  177,  183  n,  193,  198, 
199,  200  n,  208  n,  223,  229,  245,  268,  272, 
292,  294,  299,  300  n,  307,  313,  352,  364,  366, 

II,  8,  9,  10,  12  n,  20,  25,  26,  35,  109,  144, 
157,  177,  180,  203,  222,  241,  249,  300, 
305,  327,  339,  343,  350,  359  n,  391;  Num- 
ber of  Books  in,  I,  xxii,  245,  299  (see 
Linonia  and  Brothers  Library). 

Lieber,  Francis,  I,  335,  Civil  Liberty  and 
Self-Government,  I,  335,  Political  Ethics, 

I,  335. 
Liebig,  II,  57. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  I,  72,  73,  173,  290,  293, 

II,  1.32  n,  296,  340,  341,  342. 
Lindslev,  C.  A.,  II,  409. 
Lines,  E.  S.,  II,  401. 
Linguistics,  I,  296. 

Linonia,  I,  xix,  7,  103,  107,  153,  155,  157, 
169,  177,  185,  218,  250,  254,  265,  267, 
314,  323,  324,  329,  II,  26,  48,  95,  103, 
104,  134,  177,  183,  184,  197,  222,  239, 
242,  249,  269,  270,  270  n,  309,  309  n,  320, 
321-2,  326,  326  n,  344,  370,  393;  Records, 


[438] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


I,  7,  169  n,  170  n,  314  n,  324  n,  II,  48  n, 
95  n,  103  n,  104  n,  183  n,  184  n,  197  n, 
3-20  n.S,  327,  329;  Linonia  and  Brothers 
Library,  I,  xxi,  157,  333,  II,  320. 

Linsley,  J.  H.,  I,  346. 

Linsly,  Noah,  II,  16. 

Linton,  W.  J.,  II,  128  n. 

Liquor,  II,  176,  298  (see  College  Butler). 

Litchfield,  Conn.,  I,  54,  II,  121,  163,  189, 
193-5,  200,  209,  228,  229,  256-9,  333. 

Literae  Humaniores,  I,  296,  II,  6. 

Literary  Activity,  I,  111,  120;  Literary 
Cabinet,    I,   xx,   137  n,   II,   306;   Societies, 

I,  249  (see  Linonia,  Brothers,  Phi  Beta 
Kappa,    Hexahedron,   etc.). 

Literature  of  Yale,  I,  109-186,  II,  380. 

Little,  Robbins,  II,  53,  54. 

Littlefield,  G.  E.,  Early  Schools  and  School 
Books  of  N.  E.,  I,  263  n. 

Liverpool,  University  of,  II,  67  n. 

Livingston,  John,  II,  138;  J.  H.,  I,  15,  II, 
401,  Address  before  the  N.  Y.  Missionary 
Society,  I,  15;  P.  V.  B.,  I,  287,  II,  138; 
Philip",  I,  206,  II,  131,  135,  138,  158  n,  218, 
281,  290,  410;  William,  I,  218  n,  II,  37  n, 
131,  135-143,  146,  232,  233,  244,  290,  365, 
378,   401,   410,   417,   Philosophic   Solitude, 

II,  137  n. 

Livy,  I,  337,  II,  138.      . 

Locke,  John,  I,  309,  II,  137,  Essay  on  the 

Human    Understanding,    I,    22,    90,    128, 

305,  314,  II,  363. 
Lockhart,  Clinton,  II,  401. 
Locks,  Protection  of,  II,  164,  164  n. 
London,  Bishop  of,  Commissary  of,  I,  201. 
London  Times,  II,  265  n. 
Long  Island  Sound,  I,  138,  220,  II,  338. 
Longfellow,  H.  W.,  I,  110. 
Longinus,  II,  138. 
Longstreet,    A.    B.,    I,    183-4,    188,    II,   398, 

399,  400,  404,  411. 
Lookout  Mountain,  I,  352. 
Loomis,  Elias,   II,  1,  4  n,  25-30,  74,  85,  91, 

277,  409,  411,  416,  417;  Loomis  Genealogy, 

II,  28  n. 
Lord,    Benjamin,    I,    197;    Daniel,    II,   230, 

271. 
Lorenz,  E.  S.,  II,  404. 
Lorillard   family,   I,  364. 
Loring,  C.  T.,  II,  259  n. 
Lossing,  B.  J.,  Pictorial  Field  Book  of  War 

of  1812,  II,  335  n. 
Lottery,  Connecticut  Hall  erected  by  a,  I, 

45. 
Loubat,  J.   F.,  Medallic  History   of   U.   S., 

II,  334  n. 
Louis  XVI,  I,  144,  II,  316. 
Louisburg,  II,  289  n,  302,  356. 
Louisiana,    Centenary    College,    I,    183,    II, 

399;    Representative    Yale    men,    II,   399; 

University  of,  II,  399. 
Lounsbury,"T.  R.,  I,  112,  141,  142,  143,  150, 


170,  172,  222,  James  Fenimore  Cooper, 
I,  139  n,  142  n,  143  n,  150  n. 

Lovett,  John,  II,  291  n. 

Low,  Seth,  I,  270. 

Lowell,  J.  R.,  I,  110,  150,  151,  156,  II,  352, 
389,  390,  Poetical  Works,  I,  151  n,  157  n. 

Lowell,  Mass.,  I,  182. 

Lowry,  T.  J.,  Sketch  of  University  of  Mis- 
souri, I,  289  n. 

Lowth,  English  Grammar,  I,  128. 

Lowville  Academy,  II,  55. 

Loyalists  in  Yale,  II,  357,  375,  375  n. 

Lull,  R.  S.,  II,  73. 

Lundv's  Lane,  II,  334. 

Lusk,'  Gen.,  II,  293  n;  W.  T.,  II,  7  n,  402, 
Practice  of  Midwifery,  II,  7  n. 

Lycaonians,  I,  86,  87. 

L'vceum,  I,  223,  II,  241. 

Lyell,  Charles,  II,  87. 

Lyman,  Dr.,  I,  226;  Elihu,  II,  289  n; 
Phineas  (1738),  II,  93,  288,  289  n,  298- 
301,  366,  410,  419;  Phineas  (1763),  II, 
301. 

Lyman  Beecher  Lectureship,  I,  56. 

Lyon,  Gen.,  II,  226. 

Mabie,  H.  W.,  I,  173. 

McAlpine,  John,  II,  163. 

McAndrew,  G.  J.,  II,  401. 

Macaulay,  Lord,  II,  110;  Zachary,  I,  182, 

McClellan,  George,  II,  7  n,  208,  208  n;  Gen. 

George  B.,  II,  7  n,  208  n;  Mayor  George 

B.,  II,  208  n. 
McClure,  David,  I,  206,  in  Hours  at  Home, 

I,   214  n.   Memoirs   of   Eleazar    Wheelock, 

I,  206  n,  210  n,  211  n,  212,  213  n;  J.  G.  K., 

II,  399. 

McCormick  Theological  Seminary,  II,  399. 
MacCracken,  H.  M.,  The  Hall  of  Fame,  I, 

26  n,  II,  110  n,  118  n. 
McEwen,  Robert,  I,  79,  81  n. 
McFingal,  I,  114,  115  n,  121. 
McGee,  Dr.,  I,  354. 
McGill  University,  II,  89. 
Mackintosh,  James,  I,  26. 
Mclntire,  A.  W.,  II,  396. 
McKinstry,  John,  II,  151,  156. 
Macknight,  Volume  on  the  Epistles,  I,  58. 
McLane,  J.  W.,  II,  402. 
McLaughlin,  E.  T.,  I,  112  n,  Media^i'al  Life 

and  Literature,  112  n. 
Macl-ean,  G.   K.,  II,  399,  401. 
McLean,  Justice  John,  II,  203. 
Maclean,   John,   History   of   the   College    of 

New  Jersey,  I,  39  n,  194  n,  195  n. 
.AIcMaster,    J.    B.,    History    of    the    United 

States,  II,  358  n. 
McPhail,  G.  W.,  II,  403. 
McVey,  F.  LeR.,  II,  403. 
MacVeagh,    Franklin,    II,    129;    Wayne,    II, 

130,  231  n. 
Madison,  Bishop,  I,  48;  James,  I,  132,  320, 

II,  147,  222,  254,  334,  358,  389. 


[  439] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Madison,  Wis.,  I,  289. 

Maeterlinck,  I,  268. 

Magazine  of  American  History,  II,  234  n.  ff. 

Magruder,  B.  D.,  II,  231  n,  353,  398. 

Mahratta  Scriptures,  I,  62. 

Maine,   Representative  Yale  men,  II,  399. 

Makuen,  G.  H.,  II,  408. 

Malabar  language,   I,    115. 

Maltbv,     Isaac,     II,     292  n;     Jonathan,     II, 

191  n,  238  n. 
Maniaroneck,  N.  Y.,  I,  104. 
Manassas,    II,   361. 
Manatt,  J.  I.,  II,  401. 
Mann,    Horace,    I,    254,    255,    261,    II,    257; 

M.  D.,  II,  408. 
Manners,  Teaching  of,  II,  165. 
Mansfield,  Chief  Justice,  I,   196;  Jared,  II, 

49  n,  125  n,  291  n;  Richard,  II,  156. 
Marietta,  O.,  II,   179,  349. 
"Marni  Dean's,"  I,  161. 
Marrvatt,  Capt.,  I,  159. 
Marsden,  H.  R.,  II,  124. 
Marsh,  E.  G.,  II,  17,  18;  Jonathan,  II,  12; 

0.  C,  I,  208,  II,  70-5,  76,  407,  409,  412, 
416,   417. 

Marshall,  James,  II,  399;  John,  II,  244, 
252,  279;  T.  A.,  II,  231  n,  399. 

Martignac,  I,  145. 

Martin,  Philosophic  Grammar,  I,  128. 

Marvin,  Elihu,  II,  329,  331. 

Maryland,  I,  49,  50;  Representative  Yale 
men,  II,  400. 

Masao,  Tokichi,  II,  406. 

Mason,  E.  P.,  II,  4  n,  51,  87,  88,  412;  Jere- 
miah, II,  230,  247-254,  283,  401,  411,  419; 
Mason,  Jeremiah,  Memoirs  of,  II,  247 
n.  ff. 

Mass  Meetings,  University,  II,  372. 

Massachusetts  Bay  Company,  I,  263; 
Massachusetts    Common    School    Jotirnal, 

1,  256;  Massachusetts  Historical  Soc. 
Proceedings,  I,  8  n,  26,  45  n;  Institute  of 
Technology,  II,  89;  Representative  Yale 
men,  II,  400;  Survey,  II,  5,  87;  Massa- 
chusetts Teacher,  I,  260  n. 

Mater  Coronata,  I,  171. 

Mathematics,  I,  198,  II,  43-54,  64-9,  84. 

Mather,  Richard,  I,  263,  Catechism,  I,  262. 

Mathews,  Shailer,  I,  285-6. 

Mathewson,  Arthur,  I,  274  n,  II,  407. 

Maumee  City,  O.,  II,  278. 

Maurice,  F.  D.,  I,  26  n,  107. 

Maxwell,  William,  II,  268,  405. 

Mayer,  A.  M.,  II,  36. 

Mayo,  A.  D.,  I,  255  n,  262. 

Meade,  G.  G.,  II,  361. 

Means,  Robert,  II,  253, 

Media,  Pa.,  I,  355. 

Medical  and  Surgical  Reporter,  I,  352; 
College,  I,  336,  II,  62;  Education,  I,  xx,  92, 
190;  Missions,  I,  15,  88,  92,  93,  94;  Prac- 
tice in  Conn.,  II,  8,  9;  Medical  Repository, 


II,  6;  School,  Western  District  N.  Y.,  II, 

258;    School    (Yale),    I,   4,    148,    175,   222, 

223,  II,  6,  21,  85;  Medical  Science,  Com- 

pendiums  of,  I,  352. 
Medicine,  Yale's  contribution  to,  II,  6,  6n, 

7,    7  n    (see    biographies    Eliot,    Silliman, 

Cogswell,   Stevens,   Kirtland). 
Medley.   The,  I,  150  n. 
Meigs,  Henry,  II,  292  n;  Josiah,  I,  128,  315, 

II,  312  n,  398;   R.  J.,  II,   130,  222,  231  n, 

403,  411. 
"Memorabilia"  of   Yale  Literary  Magazine, 

I,  265. 

Memorial  Hall,  I,  6,  100,  186,  246,  286,  290, 

II,  90,  157,  293  n,  329;  Memorial  Tablet, 
Presentation  of,  by  Class  of  1853,  I, 
100  n;  Memorial  Volume  of  the  First 
Fifty  Years  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.,  I,  15  n. 

Memory,  a  remarkable,  I,  347-9. 

Mendel,  L.  B.,  II,  408,  409. 

Mental  Hygiene,  I,  190  n. 

Merino    Sheep    introduced    to    America,    II, 

313. 
Merriam,  G.  S.,  Noah  Porter,  I,  364  n. 
Merrifield,  Webster,  II,  403. 
Merrills,  Asa,  II,  163. 
Merwin,  Samuel,  I,  289. 
Metcalf,  V.  H.,  II,  130. 
Meteoric  Showers,  II,  50,  85. 
Meteorology,   II,   25  ff,   48-54,   126. 
Metric  System,  I,  252-3,  II,  50,  51. 
Mexican  War,  I,  xxi,  II,  287,  340,  342. 
Michigan,     Representative     Yale     men,     II, 

400;   University  of,  I,  367,  II,  387,  409. 
Micronesia,  I,  98*,  99. 
Middlebury  College,  I,  4  n,  57,  II,  126,  221, 

405. 
Middle  Temple,  London,  II,  281,  290  n. 
Milford,  Conn.,  I,  38,  II,  207;  Pa.,  II,  43. 
"Military  Adventurers,"   II,  301;   Company, 

I,  312,  II,  191;  Dress,  II,  335;  Service, 
Importance  of,  II,  383. 

Miller,  Asher,  I,  128;  Hugh,  II,  87;  Phineas, 

II,  105,  111;  Samuel,  Brief  Retrospect  of 
18th  Century,  I,  120  n;  Theodore,  II,  296. 

Miller  &  Whitney,  II,  110,  111. 

Mills,  Jedidiah,  "ll,  156;  Samuel,  I,  213; 
Samuel  J.,  I,  15;  W.  J.,  II,  231  n,  402. 

Mills  College,  Cal.,  II,  396. 

Milton,  John,  I,  346,  II,  138,  317. 

Mineralogy,  II,  5. 

Mines,  School  of   (Columbia),  I,  251. 

Ministers,  Denunciation  of,  I,  36  ff;  Pro- 
portion of,  II,  136  n;    (see  Divines). 

Ministers  to  foreign  countries,  II,  130. 

Minnesota,  Representative  Yale  men,  II, 
400;  University  of,  I,  112,  189,  II,  400. 

Minnisink,  N.  J.,  I,  42. 

Minor,  W.  T.,  II,  396. 

Missionary  Herald,  I,  289;  Work  in  West, 
I,  14,  15,  55,  189,  290-1,  II,  374. 

Missionary  Ridge,  I,  352,  II,  361. 


[440] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Missions,    Board    of,    I,    106    (see    Foreign 

Missions). 
Mississippi  College,  II,  400;  Representative 

Yale  men,  II,  400;  University  of,  I,  183, 

188,  251,  252,  II,  400. 
Missouri  Compromise,  I,  xx,  80;  Representa- 
tive Yale  men,  II,  401;  University  of,  I, 

188,  277,  289,  II,  401. 
MitcheU,  D.  G.    ("Ik  Marvel"),  I,  110,  149, 

160-6,    369,    II,    412;     Elisha,     II,    42  n; 

S.  M.,  I,  160,  217,  II,  283,  397. 
Mitchell,  Mount,  II,  42  n. 
Mitre,  Use  of,  by  Seabury,  I,  50. 
Mix,  Caleb,  I,  161;  Silas*  I,  89,  II,  262. 
Modern  Languages,  I,  xx. 
Mohawks,  I,  28. 
Monroe,   James,   II,   201,   203,   222;   W.    S., 

Educational   Labors    of   Henry   Barnard, 

I,  254  n,  257  n,  262. 
Monson,  Mass.,  I,  254,  II,  25. 

Montana  Normal  School,  II,  401;  Repre- 
sentative Yale  men,  II,  401. 

Monteagle,  Lord,  II,  274. 

Montesquieu,  I,  305. 

Monticello   Female   Seminary,   I,  291. 

Montreal,  II,  300. 

Moodus,   Conn.,   II,  323. 

Moore,  E.  H.,  II,  408,  409;  J.  B.,  II,  285; 
Gov.  William,  II,  143,  233;  Rev.  William 
E.,  I,  351. 

Moor's  Indian  School,  I,  210. 

Moral  Condition  of  College,  I,  53,  58,  137, 
224  and  passim;  Society,  I,  xx,  54,  54  n, 
70,  225,  323,  324,  II,  26;  Moral  Society 
Records,  I,  324  n. 

Mores,  Definition  of  the,  I,  359. 

Morgan,  H.  J.,  Sketches  of  Celebrated 
Canadians,  II,  235  n;  William,  Illustra- 
tions of  Freemasonry,  I,  63. 

Morgan  Park,  111.,  I,  382. 

"Morning  Star,"  The,  I,  99. 

Morrill  Land  Grant,  II,  388. 

Morris,  Gouverneur,  II,  147,  219,  281,  335; 
Lewis,  I,  219  n,  299,  II,  131,  150,  158  n, 
218-9,  290,  410;  L.   B.,  II,  397;   Richard, 

II,  231  n,  402;   Robert,  II,  167,  168. 
Morrison,     L.     A.,     History     of     Morrison 

Family,  II,  280. 
Morristown,  N.  J.,  I,  357. 
Morse,    E.    L.,    II,    119;    Jedidiah,    I,    227, 

287-8,   II,    112,    139  n,    196,   376,   411,   416; 

S.  F.  B.,  I,  3,  227,  II,  39,  91,  92,  93,  108, 

112-9,   278,   368,   376,   378,   393,    411,   417; 

Mrs.  S.  F.  B.,  II,  416. 
Moseley,  Ebenezer,  II,  292  n. 
Mosheim,  Ecclesiastical  History,  I,  59. 
Mosher,  R.  B.,  Executive  Register  of  U.  S., 

II,  143  n. 
"Mother  Yale"  (see  College  Hall). 
Mount  Hamilton,  I,  181. 
Mount  Holyoke,  II,  87. 
Mount  Holyoke  College,  I,  291. 


Mount  Tom,  II,  87. 

Mount  Vernon,  II,  312,  391. 

Moustier,  Marquis,  II,  119. 

Mpongwe  Scriptures,  I,  62. 

Mulford,  Daniel,  I,  137,   141;  Elisha,  I,  66, 

107-8,  II,  412. 
Mumford,  Paul,  II,  230  n,  404;  Thomas,  II, 

171. 
Munger,    T.    T.,    I,    12,    66,    67,    106-7,    332, 

II,  379,  412,  416,  Horace  Bushnell,  I,  86, 

On  the   Threshold,  I,  106. 
Munich,  University  of,  II,  35,  57. 
Munson,   Eneas,    II,   318,   323. 
Murchison,  Roderick,  II,  87. 
Murdock,  James,  I,  296,  II,  416;  J.  B.,  II, 

292  n. 
Murphy,  Starr,  I,  23  n. 
Music  School,  I,  xxii. 
Muskingum  College,  I,  281. 

Napier,  R.  D.,  II,  123. 

Napoleon  III,  II,  53,  118,  119. 

Natchez,  Miss.,  II,  301. 

Nation,  The,  I,  107,  340. 

National  Academy  of  Design,  II,  115; 
Academy  of  Sciences,  I,  132,  252,  340, 
346,  349,  354,  II,  22,  25,  27,  35,  43  n,  46, 
46  n,  49  n,  52,  59,  66  n,  69,  74,  77  n,  79  n, 
80,  81  n,  82,  85,  86,  86  n,  87  n,  89,  100, 
268,  407,  409 ;  Association  of  School  Super- 
intendents, I,  275;  Civil  Service  Reform 
League,  I,  270;  Conservation  Association, 
II,  408;  Education  Association,  I,  275, 
II,  407;  Influence  of  Yale  Graduates,  II, 
395-409;  National  Portrait  Gallery  of 
Americans,   II,   187,  310  n. 

Natural  History  Society,  I,  186,  345. 

Naval  Academy  (see  Annapolis). 

Navigation,  II,   125. 

Navy  U.  S.,  History  of,  bv  J.  F.  Cooper, 
I,  143. 

Neagle,  John,  I,  143. 

Nebraska,  Representative  Yale  men,  II, 
401;  University  of,  II,  401. 

Neck  Bridge,  New  Haven,  I,  312. 

Negro  Education,  I,  91  (People  of  color), 
288. 

Nelson,  WiUiam,  II,  342. 

Nettleton,  Asahel,  I,  12  n,  104. 

Nevada,  Representative  Yale  men,   II,  401. 

Nevin,   Ethclbcrt,  I,  334  n. 

New  Britain,  Conn.,  I,  257,  278. 

New  Concord,  ().,  I,  281. 

New  Divinity,  The,  I,  12. 

New  England  Magazine,  I,  336;  Neir  Eng- 
land Primer,  I,  318;  Spirit  and  traditions, 
I,  11,  32  n,  76,  II,  323,  385,  388;  Theologj', 
I,  12,  67,  84,  103,  II,  379;  Tract  Society, 
I,  289. 

Neic  Englander,  I,  xxi,  73,  241,  334,  339,  340. 

New  Hampshire  College  of  Agriculture,  II, 
409;  Representative  Yale  men,  II,  401; 
Survey,  II,  40. 


[441  ] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


New  Haven  Association  of  Ministers,  I, 
131;  Cemetery  (see  Grove  Street  Ceme- 
tery) ;  New  Haven  Colony  Historical 
Society  Papers,  I,  202  n,  208  n,  II,  63  n, 
121  n,  122,  124,  220  n,  249  n,  284  n;  Inva- 
sion of,  I,  XX,  II,  237,  390;  Removal  of 
College  to,  I,  19,  200;  West,  Association, 

I,  68. 

New  Jersey,  College  of  (see  under  Prince- 
ton); Colonial  Documents,  I,  367;  Repre- 
sentative Yale  men,   II,  401. 

New  Lebanon,  N.  Y.,  II,  212. 

"New  I,ights,"  I,  36. 

New  London,  I,  48,  II,  323,  331 ;  New  Lon- 
don Gazette,  I,  349,  350. 

New  Mexico  Baptist  College,  II,  402;  Col- 
lege of  Agriculture  and  Mechanical  Arts, 

II,  402;     Normal     University,     II,     402; 
Representative  Yale  men,  II,  402. 

New  Milford,  Conn.,  I,  64,  331. 

New  Orleans,  I,  357,  II,  263,  343,  346,  361. 

New  Preston,  Conn.,  I,  76. 

New  Testament  Company,  I,  243. 

New  York  American,  11,  194;  New  York 
Evening  Post,  I,  177  n,  II,  362  n;  New 
York  Gazette,  II,  281  n;  New  York  His- 
torical Society,  II,  170,  246;  New  York 
Journal,  II,  281;  Neic  York  Journal  of 
Commerce,  I,  81 ;  New  York  Mirror,  I, 
156;  New  York  Public  Library,  II,  216, 
216  n;  Representative  Yale  men,  II,  402- 
403;  Siege  of,  II,  310;  State  Deaf-Mutes, 
I,  231,  251;  New  York  Tribune,  II,  223, 
383;  University  of  the  City  of,  I,  232,  II, 
27,  116  n,  214;  University  of  the  State 
of,  I,  252,  II,  83,  333;  New  York  World, 

I,  172. 

Newark,  N.  J.,  I,  39  n. 

Newberry  Library,  I,  294;  T.  H.,  II,  130. 

Newel,  Stanford,' II,  130, 

Newell,  Samuel,  I,  62. 

Newlands,  F.  G.,  II,  401. 

Newport,  R.  I.,  I,  32,  34,  303,  306,  307,  309, 

II,  9,  76. 

Newsboys'  Lodging  House,  I,  293. 

Newton^  H.  A.,  I,  253  n,  II,  4  n,  8,  28,  30, 
36,  48-54,  84  n,  409,  412,  416,  417,  Memo- 
rial Address,  II,  25  n,  26  n,  27  n,  30; 
Isaac,  I,  130,  II,  138,  Principia,  I,  199. 

Niagara,  Battle  of,  II,  334;   Falls,  II,  335. 

Nichols,  G.  W.,  Letters  from  Waldegrove 
Cottage,  II,  32  n;  William,  II,  175. 

Nicholson,   Meredith,  A   Hoosier  Chronicle, 

I,  362  n. 

Nicolay     and     Hay,     Works     of    Abraham 

Lincoln,  II,  132  n. 
Nicbuhr,  I,  335. 
Noble,  J.  W.,   I,   107,  II,  130,  294;   W.  A., 

II,  294. 

North,  Simeon,  II,  402. 

North  American  Revieto,  I,  259  n. 

North    Carolina,    Geological   Survey,   II,   5; 


Representative  Yale  men,  II,  403;  Uni- 
versity of,  I,  271. 

North  Church,  New  Haven,  I,  106,  II,  241. 

North  Dakota,  Representative  Yale  men, 
II,  403;  University  of,  II,  403. 

North  Haven,  Conn.,  I,  298,  364,  II,  298. 

North  Killingly,  Conn.,  I,  273. 

North  Middle  "College,  I,  223. 

Northampton,  Mass.,  I,  24,  29,  31,  41,  214, 
221,  II,  37,  38,   136,  316. 

Northern  Illinois  College,  II,  399. 

Northrop,  Cvrus,  I,  112,  189  n,  191  n,  261, 
278  n,  II,  i80,  400;  S.  B.,  II,  293  n. 

Northwestern   University,  II,  399. 

Norton,  F.  C,  Governors  of  Connecticut, 
n,  162  n;  Rev.  John,  II,  288,  289  n;  John 
Pitkin,  II,  4,  56,  57,  58,  61,  63,  88,  412, 
416;  W.  A.,  I,  268,  II,  2. 

"Norton's   Cadets,"   I,  268. 

Norwalk,  Conn.,  I,  57,  II,  326. 

Norwich,  Conn.,  I,  81,  160,  168,  226,  264, 
345,  II,  89,  102,  329,  331. 

Nott,  Abraliam,  II,  231  n,  404. 

Nova  Scotia,  II,  70. 

Noyes,  Joseph,  I,  197,  199. 

Numismatic  and  Antiquarian  Society,  I,  354. 

Oahu  College,  II,  398. 

Oakland,  Cal.,  I,  175,  179,  291. 

Oath  of  Secrecy,  I,  330. 

Oberlin  College,  I,  16,  55. 

Obituary  Record,  I,  xxi,  180,  II,  45  n,  362  n. 

Observatory,  I,  333,  II,  4  n,  28,  29,  51. 

Occom,  Samson,  I,  210. 

O'Conor,  Charles,  I,  157-9,  II,  271,  272. 

Offices  held  by  Yale  men,  II,  406. 

Ogilvie,  John,  I,  44,  II,  289  n. 

Ohio  and  Scioto  Land  Co.,  I,  132;  Asylum 
for  Deaf  Mutes,  I,  231 ;  Representative 
Yale  men,  II,  403;  University,  I,  189,  II, 
390. 

Ojibbewa  (Ojibway)  Indians,  I,  69;  Scrip- 
tures, I,  62. 

Okabe,  Viscount  Nagamoto,  II,  406. 

Olcott,  Bulkley,  II,  166;  Simeon,  II,  401. 

"Old  Lights,"  "ll,  13. 

Old  Lyme,  Conn.,  I,  349. 

Oldham,  England,   I,  356. 

Olmsted,  Denison,  I,  162,  240,  248,  329,  II, 
4n,  5,  20,  26,  37  n,  84-5,  87,  411,  416, 
Life  of  Ebenezer  Porter  Mason,  I,  115  n, 
Memoirs  of  Eli  Whitney,  H,  105n.  flf; 
F.  L.,  II,  88,  93,  126-7,  412;  J.  H.,  II,  126. 

Olmsted  Stoves,  I,   161,  II,  37. 

Ophthalmic   Hospital,   Canton,   I,  93. 

Ordination,  Validity  of,  I,  13,  II,  9. 

Oregon  Band,  II,  395;  Representati%'e  Yale 
men,  II,  403;  University  of,  II,  403. 

Orient,  L.  I.,  II,  307. 

Oriental  Languages,  I,  61,  II,  380. 

Ornithichnology,  II,  87. 

Orrery,  I,  51. 

Osborn  Hall,  I,  199,  205. 


[  442  ] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Osborne,  Elizabeth  A.,  From  the  Letter- 
Files  of  S.  W.  Johnson,  II,  55  n.  ff;  T.  B., 
Biographical  Memoir  of  S.  W.  Johnson, 
II,  59  n,  62. 

Ostwald,  Prof.,  II,  66. 

Otis,  James,  II,  176,  356. 

Otsego  Hall,  I,   136. 

Otterbein   University,  II,  403. 

Outlook,  The,  I,  115  n,  II,  384. 

Oviatt,   Edwin,  I,   177  n. 

Owen,  J.  J.,  I,  264. 

Oxford,  I,  1,  10,  49,  104,  167,  177,  203,  356, 
II,  134,  357,  372,  386,  387;  Union,  II,  370. 

Oyster  Pond,  L.  I.,  II,  307. 

Packard,  L.  R.,  II,  364,  407. 

Page,  William,  II,  17. 

Paine,  Thomas,  I,  53,  II,  223. 

Paleontology,  II,  70-5,  87. 

Palestine,  I,  104. 

Paler,  Theology,  I,  92,  305,  II,  199. 

Palfrey  Exhibition,  I,  208  n. 

Palmer,  Mr.,  I,   175;   Ray,   I,   111,   184,   II, 

26,  411. 
Palo  Alto,  Battle  of,  II,  345. 
Panama  Canal,  I,  133  n.  II,  210,  267,  351. 
Panoplist,  I,  287,  289,  II,  268. 
Paradise  Lost,  I,  115. 

Paris,  University  of,  I,  352,  II,  57,  65,  386. 
Park,    E.    A.,    I,   34,   58,    66,   Discourse    on 

Moses  Stuart,  I,  16  n,  57  n.  ff. 
Parke,  Peter,  II,  99  n. 

Parker,    James,    II,    11  n;    Joseph,    I,    52; 
Peter,  I,   15,   16,  88-96,  369,   II,   130,  366, 
367,  411;   W.   B.,  I,   181. 
Parkhurst,  Hebrew  Lexicon,  I,  60. 

Parsons,  L.  B.,  II,  294,  310;  Samuel,  II,  76; 
Gen.  Samuel  H.,   II,  193. 

Partridge,  S.  C,  II,  399. 

Passamaquoddy  Legend  of  the  Witches,  I, 
355. 

Patents,  Commissioners  of,  II,  92. 

Paterson,  John,  II,  290. 

Paterson,  N.  J.,  I,  356. 

Patrick,   Joseph,   II,   175. 

Patriotism  at  College,  I,  218,  313,  II,  176, 
191,  291. 

Patriots  and  Soldiers,  II,  287-362. 

Patroon  of  Albany,  I,  65. 

Patterson,  Lieut.  John,  II,  289  n. 

Patton,  John,  II,  400. 

Paucton,  II,  101. 

P-C-C  Club,  II,  151,  156. 

Peabody,  A.  P.,  II,  180;  George,  II,  70,  71. 

Peabody  Fund,  I,  270;  Museum,  I,  xxii, 
242,  333,  342,  II,  31,  70-5,  200;  Southern 
Education   Fund,   II,  346. 

Pearce,  Cyrus,  The  Yaliad,  II,  125,  125  n. 

Peck,  Tracy,  II,  407. 

Peet,  H.  P.,  I,  232;  I.  L.,  I,  232. 

Peirce,  Benjamin,  I,  338. 

Pemberton,  Ebenezer,  I,  194. 

Penalties,   I,   8  n,   36,   39,   59,   79,    102,    116, 


137,  139,  141,  176,  193,  207,  217,  223,  300- 
303,  II,  16,  135,  159,  165-6,  173,  174,  175, 
220    298. 
Penfield,  S.  L.,  II,  3  n,  409. 
Pennsylvania,    Deaf-Mutes,    I,   231;    Repre- 
sentative Yale  men,  II,  403-4;  State  Col- 
lege,  II,  404;    University   of,   I,   104,  201, 
203,  277,  293,  352,  II,  132,  245,  390,  394, 
403,  409. 
Penrose,  S.  B.  L.,  II,  405. 
Percival,  J.  G.,   I,   146-152,  369,  II,  5,  278, 

411,  Poems,  I,  152  n,  Prometheus,  I,  147. 
Perit,   Pelatiah,   II,   155. 
Perkins,  Alfred,  II,  25;  Justin,  I,  62;  T.  A., 

I,  278. 
Perrin,  Bernadotte,  II,  408. 
Perry,  A.  L.,  I,  359;   Bliss,  I,  111;   D.   B., 

II,'  401. 
Persia,  I,  16. 
Peter  the  Great,  II,  110. 
Peters,  J.  A.,  II,  230  n,  399;  Samuel,  I,  347. 
Phase  Rule,  II,  66. 

Phelps,  E.  J.,  I,  4n,  II,  229;  Elizabeth  S., 
I,   180;   S.   S.,   II,  293  n,  405;   W.   W.,  II, 
130. 
Phi   Alpha,  I,  330. 

Phi  Beta  Kappa,  I,  xx,  53  n,  58,  64,  70,  86  n, 
97,   151,    178,   182,    184,   224  n,   226  n,   228, 
228  n,  254,  261,  264,  310  n,  319,  323,  324, 
337,    II,    16,    18,    32,    39,   49,    64,    70,    103, 
104,   120,  120  n,   199,  208,  237,  238  n,  240, 
241,  248,  256,  259,  270,  276,  363-4,  364  n, 
365,  366. 
Philadelphia,  I,  228,  240,  292,  317,  352,  II, 
19,  43,  44,  47,  83,  84,  99,   152,  290  n,  359, 
391;    Academy    of    Natural    Sciences,    I, 
352-  College  of,  II,  290  n   (see  University 
of  Pennsylvania). 
Philagorian  Society,  I,  330,  331  n. 
Philencratian  Society,  I,  78,  II,  26,  261. 
Philip  or  the  Jealous  King,  I,  80. 
Philippines,  I,  363,  II,  296;   Representative 

Yale  men,  II,  404. 
Philipse  Manor,  N.  Y.,  II,  310. 
Phillips,  Mr.,  I,  34;  M.  E.,  James  Fenimore 

Cooper,  I,  139  n;  Wendell,  II,  340. 
Phillips    Academy,    Andover,    I,    153,    227, 
273,    II,    70,    386;    Academy,    Exeter,    II, 
386. 
Philology,  I,  296. 
Philosophical   Apparatus  in   1792,  I,  51,  II, 

15;  Society,  Philadelpliia,  II,  182. 
Pliilosophy,  I,  19-29,  197-205,  273-280  (espe- 
cially   276  n),    329-335;    Doctorate    of,    I, 
189, "242,  242  n,  271,  281,  II,  3. 
Physical  Chemistry,  II,  66-7. 
Pliysiological  Chemistry,  I,  190,  II,  3. 
Pierce,  Miss  Sarah,  II,  257. 
Pierpont,   James,    I,   25;    John,    I,    182,    II, 

293,  411;  Sarah,  I,  25. 
Pierrepont,     Edwards,     II,     130,    212,    213, 
231  n,  268. 


[443] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Pierson,  Abraham,  I,  xix,  19-2,  195,  196,  II, 
8,  1^,  Phygicks,  I,  197;  John,  I,  194. 

Pierson-Sage  Square,  I,  xxii,  19:2. 

Pinchot,  Gifford,  I,  190  n,  II,  4,  408. 

Pincknev,  C.  C,  II,  109. 

Pirsson,'  L.  V.,  II,  409. 

Pitkin,  H.  T.,  I,  16;  Timothy,  II,  241. 

Plass,   Norman,   II,  399. 

Plato,  I,  165,  241,  II,  138,  384. 

Piatt,  T.  C.  II,  402. 

Plummer,  George,  II,  292  n. 

Plymouth,  Mass.,  I,  56. 

Poe,  E.  A.,  I,  110. 

Poets,  Yale  (see  Sill,  Stedman,  Willis,  etc., 
under  Authors). 

Poisoning  of  Students,  II,  175. 

Polk,  J.  K.,  II,  201  n;  Trusten,  II,  401. 

Pollock,  Baron,  II,  265. 

Pomerov,   Benjamin,   I,  208,  II,  289  n. 

Pond,  C.   H.,  il,  396. 

Poole,  Index,  I,  294;  W.  F.,  I,  294,  II,  412. 

Pope,  Alexander,  II,  137. 

"Pope  of  Connecticut,"  I,  225. 

Popular  Science  Monthly,  II,  70  n.  ff. 

Porter,  Charles,  II,  58;  Horace,  II,  362; 
J.  A.,  II,  4,  61;  Joshua,  II,  332;  Miss 
(Sarah),  I,  329;  Nathaniel,  I,  46;  Noah, 
I,  xxi,  15,  257,  276  n,  297,  329-335,  340, 
371,  II,  25,  57,  75,  277,  397,  411,  416, 
Funeral  Services  of  James  Hadley,  I, 
337  n,  339  n.  ff.  The  Human  Intellect,  I, 
276  n;  P.  B.,  II,  93,  130,  255,  292,  292  n, 
332-6,  411,  419. 

Porter  Gateway,  I,  334;  Rhetorical  Society, 
I,  87. 

Portland,  Me.,  I,  153. 

Porto  Rico,  Representatiye  Yale  men,  II, 
404. 

Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  II,  250. 

Post-Graduate  Medical  School,  N.  Y.,  II, 
402;  Work,  I,  208,  269  (see  Philosophy). 

Potomac,  Army  of  the,  I,  172. 

Potter,  L.   H.,"ll,  399. 

Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  II,  242. 

Pratt,  Bela,  II,  127  n,  327;  Joseph  H.,  II, 
408. 

Prayers,  I,  xxi,  161,  193,  207,  305,  II,  276, 
344  (see  College  Church). 

Preaching,  Sermon  on,  I,  86-7. 

Prehistoric  Races  of  America,  I,  354. 

Presbyterian  Church,  I,   105. 

President  and  Fellows  (see  Yale  Corpora- 
tion); Respect  to   (see  Bowing). 

Preston,  I.  T.,  I,  325,  II,  293  n. 

Prideaux,  Connection,  I,  59. 

Priestley,  Joseph,  I,  305. 

Prime,  S.  I.,  Life  of  Morse,  II,  113n.  ff. 

Prince,   William,    II,   18. 

Princeton,  Battle  of,  II,  291,  310;  Theolog- 
ical Seminary,  I,  240;  University,  I,  24, 
39,  113  n,  188,  189,  194,  194  n,  195,  195  n, 
196,  225,  271,  277,  287,  II,  27,  36,  69,  132, 


136,  138,  146,  194,  220,  228,  230  n,  256,  276, 

290  n,  294  n,  380,  388-391,  394,  401. 
Printing    Press,    first   in    America,    II,   390; 

planned  by   Franklin   for   New   Haven,   I, 

300,    II,    11  n;    suggested    by    Barlow,    I, 

134. 
Pritchett,  H.  S.,  I,  277. 
Professorships,    Early,    I,   xix,    xx,    138,    166 

(see  Tutorship). 
Proqress    of    Ditlness,    by    John    Trumbull, 

I,'^  118  n,  119. 
Propeller,  Early  use  of,  II,  101. 
Providence  of  God,  I,  27-8,  70  and  passim. 
Provoost,  Bishop,  I,  48. 
Prudden,  T.  M.,  II,  409. 
Psalms  in  Hebrew,  I,  197. 
Psi  Upsilon,  I,  346. 
Public  Health  Movement,  I,  190  n ;  Service, 

Fitting  men  for,  I,  189,  II,  286. 
Putnam,  David,  I,  281;  Israel,  I,  281,  II,  98, 

100,  302  n,  310,  313;  J.   O.,   II,   130,  402; 

Rufus,  II,  179,  390. 

Quarterly     Register,     II,     19  n;     Quarterly 

Review,  I,  221. 
Quebec,  II,  89. 
Queen  Anne's  War,  I,  197. 
Queen  Caroline's  Parish,  Md.,  I,  49. 
Quick,  C.  W.,  II,  46. 
Quinnipiac,  Conn.,  1,  138. 
Quinquennial   Catalogue,   I,  2,   188,   II,   129, 

406  and  passim. 
Quintilian,  II,  138. 

Rains,  J.  E.,  II,  295. 

Raleigh,  Walter,   II,   138. 

Ralph,  Julian,  II,  128. 

Rankin,  Prof.,  II,  123. 

Ranking,  I,  248,  II,  363-4  (see  Social 
Standing). 

"Ratio  Vivendi,"  I,  299. 

Rayleigh,  Lord,   II,  69. 

Raymond,    Rossiter,   II,  78  n,  80  n. 

"Rebellions,"  I,  8,  79,  154,  301-3,  II,  18,  26, 
173,  174,  301,  338. 

Records  of  the  Monthly  Concert  of  Prayer, 
MS.,  I,  91  n;  Records  of  organizations,  I, 
7;  Records  of  President  and  Tutors,  I, 
4n   (see  Faculty,  Linonia,  etc.). 

Red  Cloud,  Chief',  II,  73,  74. 

Redding,  Conn.,  I,  126. 

"Redeemed  Captive,"  II,  288. 

Reeve,  Abner,  II,  256  n;  Tappan,  II,  200, 
228,  256,  257,  .359  n. 

Religion,  University's  Contribution  to,  I,  11- 
108;  Influence  of  at  Yale,  II,  366-7;  Uni- 
versity School  of,  I,  67  (see  Divinity 
School). 

Religious  Activities  of  Students,  I,  18,  64, 
77,  83,  98;  Beliefs,  I,  82;  Conditions  in 
New  England,  I,  77;  Religious  Education 
Association,  I,  190,  284;  Faith  a  marked 


[  444] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Yale  Characteristic,  II,  366;   Instruction, 

I,  193,  207,  209;  Movements,  I,  xix,  38, 
81;  Music,  I,  77  (see  Divines,  College 
Church,   Missions,   Revivals). 

Remick,  Morison,   II,  280. 

Remington,  Frederic,  II,  93,  127-8,  412. 

"Remonstrance  and  Complaint,"  I,  68. 

Remsen,  Ira,  I,  269. 

Resolutions,  Pious,  I,  23,  88,  89-90,  185,  230, 

299-300. 
Reuchlin,  Johann,  I.  284. 
Revivals,  I,  xxi,  30,  90,  289,  II,  19,  136,  338. 
Revolutionary-    War,    I,  47,    111,    121,    122-6, 

213,  220,  307-9,  310,   II,  98-102,   152,   176, 

220,   234,   287,   289-291,   308  if,  317  flF,   331, 

332,  356-360,  374,  378,  385,  390,  393. 
Reynolds,  J.  B.,  I,  190  n. 
Rhetoric,  Instruction  in,  I,  207. 
Rhode    Island,    I,    257;    Bishop    of,    I,    48; 

Representative  Yale  men,  II,  404. 
Rice,  J.  C,  II,  294,  361-2,  412;  W.  X.,  II, 

397,  409. 
Richards,  E.  M.,  II,  329,  331. 
Richmond,  Va.,  II,  266,  342. 
Ridgefield,  Conn.,  II,  304. 
Ridgley,  Body  of  Divinity,  I,  59. 
Riggs,"Elias,'l,  62. 
Riots,    I,    324-5,    II,    135-6,    173,    174     (see 

Rebellions,  and  "Town  and  Gown"). 
Robbins,  Asher,  II,  404;  Levi,  II,  16;   Rev. 

Mr.,  II,  241. 
Roberts,   Henrv,   II,   397. 
Roliertson,  C.  F.,  II,  401. 
Robinson,   Edward.    I,   104,   105;    Hugh,    II, 

292  n;    William,    II,  323. 
Rochambeau,  Count  de,  I,  308. 
Rochester  Theological   Seminarv,  II,  402. 
Rockefeller,  J.  D.,  I,  285. 
Rockefeller  Institute  for  Medical  Research, 

II,  408. 

Rockwell,  Julius,  II,  400. 

Rogers,  H.  D.,  II,  87;  R.  C,  JS^oah  Porter, 

I,  334  n. 

Rohault,  Philosophy,  I,  208. 

Rollins,  Ancient  History,  I,  323,  II,  95. 

Roman  Catholic  Church,  I,  201,  II,  118,  384. 

Rood,  Ogdcn,  II,  35,  36. 

Roosa,  D.  St.  J.,  II,  402. 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  I,  277,  II,  132. 

Root,  James,  II,  292  n. 

Rosary,  The,  I,  334  n. 

Rose  Polytechnic  Institute,  II,  399. 

Rothschild,  Baron  Lionel  de,  II,  274. 

Round  Top  Mountain,  II,  361. 

Rousseau,   I,  53. 

Rowland,  H.  A.,  I,  269. 

Royal  -Vcademy,  Berlin,  II,  35;  London,  II, 

115;    St.    Petersburg,    11,   35;    Vienna,    II, 

35. 
Royal  Society,  Canada,  II,  89;   Edinburgh, 

II,  52;  London,  II,  8,  35,  52,  69,  89,  313. 
Rovce,  Josiah,   I,   179. 


Rubber,  Goodvear's  Invention  of,  II,  92. 

Rugby,  II,  386. 

Ruggics,  S.  B.,  I,  157-9,  253,  272,  292,  335; 

Thomas,  U,  11  n. 
Rum,  Cost  of,  I,  314. 
Rumford  Medal,  II,  69. 
Rumsey,   William,    II,   293  n. 
Runyon,  Theodore,  II,  130,  294. 
Ruskin,  John,   II,  77. 

Russell,  Giles,  11,  289  n;   W.   H.,  II,  416. 
Russell  Sage   Foundation,  I,  270. 
Russia  and  U.  S.,  II,  342. 
Rutgers  College,  II,  132,  394  n,  401. 
Rutledge,  F.  H.,  II,  398. 

Sachem's  Wood,  I,  183,  344. 

Sage,  Ebenezer,  I,  315;  Mrs.  Russell,  I,  344. 

St.  Francis  Xavier  College,  X.  Y.,  II,  402. 

St.  Gaudens,  Augustus,  I,  244. 

St.  John,  I.  M.,  II,  295;  S.  B.,  II,  407. 

St.  John's  College,  Md.,  I,  259,  271,  II, 
400. 

St.  John's  Fort,  Capture  of,  II.  191. 

St.  Louis,  Mo..  I,  275;  Yale  Alumni  Asso- 
ciation,  II,  226. 

St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  II,  384;  College,  Mo., 
II,  401. 

Salaries  of  Professors,  etc.,  I,  192,  335. 

Salem,  Mass.,  I,  325. 

Salisbury,  E.  E.,  I,  95,  282,  296,  349,  350, 
366,  367,  n,  407,  411,  416. 

Salisbury.  Conn.,  II,  335. 

Sallmon,"  W.  H..  II,  400. 

Sallust,  I,  114  n. 

Salmon,  Geographical  and  Historical 
Grammar.   I,  115. 

Salter,  John,  II.  292  n. 

Saltonstall,  Governor,  I,  13;  Gurdon,  II, 
289  n,  290. 

Sampson,  Ezra,  II,  323. 

Sanders,  F.  K.,  I,  282,  II,  399;  J.  C,  II, 
407. 

Sandwich   Islands    (see   Hawaii). 

Sanford,   Emily,   Professorship.    I,   367. 

Sanskrit,   I,  366. 

Santa  Yago   (Santiago),  Chili,  II,  305. 

Saratoga,  X.  Y.,  I,  252. 

Sargent,  Winthrop,  II,  179. 

Savannah,  Ga.,  II,  105. 

Savoy  Confession  of  Faith,  I,  306. 

SavbVook,  Conn.,  I,  19  n.  20,  193,  199,  200, 
244,  II,  8,  95,  96. 

Scarborough,  Jared.    II,  292  n. 

Scarcity  of  Provisions  in  College,  II,  190, 
191.  192. 

Schauffler.  W.  G..  I,  62. 

SchiajKirelli,  Giovanni  V.,  II,  50. 

Scholars.   I,  295-368. 

Scholarshi])s.  Comjietitive,  I,  189  (see  Berke- 
ley  Scholarship). 

Scholastic  rank,  I.  247-8.  II.  363-1. 


[  445  ] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


School  Administration,  I,  255;  Keeping,  II, 

32t. 
Schoolhouse,  First  in  California,  I,  291  n. 
Schoolhouses,  Unsuitable,  I,  255. 
Schouler,    James,    History    of    the    United 

States,  II,  203  n. 
Schuvler,  Eugene,  I,  186,  II,  130,  412;  Gen., 

II,"  304. 
Science    and    Art    Medal,    II,    117;    Men   of, 

II,  1-90;  National  Academy  of  (see  under 

National);  Teaching  of,  I,'xx,  189,  II,  20, 

77   (see  Sheffield  Scientific  School). 
Scotch    Society    for    Propagating    Christian 

Knowledge,  I,  39. 
Scott,    Austin,    II,    401;    George,    II,    403; 

J.    M.,    I,    299,    II,    150,    232,    236,    290; 

Walter,  I,  160;  Winfield,  II,  342. 
Scribiier's  ^laqazine,  I,  75,  172. 
Scriptures,  Translation  of,  I,  16,  61-2,  105. 
Scudder.    Horace,    ^oah     Webster,    I,    312, 

314n.  ff;  Richard,  I,  196. 
Seaburv,   Samuel,   I,   13,   14,   44-50,  369,   II, 

238,  375  n,  398,  404,  411;  W.  J.,  Memoirs 

of  Bishop  Seabury,  I,  47  n,  49. 
Seal  Harbor,  Me.,  I,  363. 
Secret  Societies,  I,  97,  358,  II,  241,  241  n. 
Sedgwiclc,    Adam,    II,    87;    Catherine,     II, 

220;    Theodore,    II,    130,    220,    400,    411; 

Theodore,    Jr.,    II,    220;    Theodore,    third, 

II,    142,  Memoirs   of    William  Livingston, 

II,  135  n,  137  n,  139  n,  142;  W.  T.,  II,  408. 
Self-consecration,  I,  300. 
Self-examination,  I,  89,  90,  II,  366  n. 
Semi-Centennial  Anniversary   of   the  Divin~ 

ity  School  of   Yale  College,  The,  I,   18  n, 

24  n,  93  n,  95  n. 
Semitic  Studies,  I,  281,  282,  284,  286. 
Senate,  Representation  in,  II,  396-406. 
Seneca,  II,  138. 
Senior  Societies,  I,  xxi. 
Sergeant,  John,   I,   14,  27,  28,  42,  102,  190, 

206,  210,  II,  410. 
Seward,  W.  H.,  II,  209,  S41,  271. 
Seymour,  G.  D.,  II,  323;   Horatio,  II,  405; 

J.    S.,   II,   92;   O.   S.,    II,   231  n;   Thomas 

(1724),  II,  163;  Thomas    (1755),  II,  301; 

T.  D.,  I,  4n,  II,  416. 
Shak-espeare,  I,  346,  II,  39,  138,  317,  384. 
Sharon,  Conn.,  I,  317. 
Sharpe,  Thomas,  II,  357. 
Shasta,  Mount,  II,  77. 
Shays'  Rebellion,  II,  220,  288,  313,  358. 
Shearer,  Sextus,  I,  176,  177,  179. 
Sheffield,  J.  E.,  II,  14,  58,  62,  63,  416. 
Sheffield,  Mass.,  I,  247. 
Sheffield  Dormitory,  First,  I,  xxii;   Hall,  I, 

XX,  223,  .336,  II,  Q2;  Scientific  School,   I, 

xxi,  2  n,  86  n,  189,  222,  242,  268,  333,  359, 

II,  2-3,  33,  36,  56,  57,  59,  60,  63,  76,  77, 

89,  92,  377. 
Sheldon,  Daniel,  II,  195. 
Shelley,  P.  B.,  I,  167,  180. 
Shelton,  Philo,  I,  14. 


Sheppard,  Morris,  II,  406  n. 

Sherburne,  N.  Y.,  II,  48. 

Sherman,  D.  A.,  II,  404;  Roger,  II,  146, 
149,  268,  283,  304,  374  n,  416;  Roger  M., 
I,  51,  57,  224,  II,  23,  24,  230,  241,  283,  411. 

Shiloh,  Conn.,  II,  361. 

Shiras,   George,   I,   167,   II,  230  n,   285. 

Shorter,  J.  H.,  II,  231  n,  402. 

Siam,   Representative   Yale  men,   II,  406. 

Siamese  Scriptures,  I,  62. 

Siblev,  J.  L.,  II,  392. 

Sicard,  Abbe,  I,  231. 

Signal  Service,  II,  28. 

Sigourney,  Mrs.,  I,  233. 

Silkworm  in  Connecticut,  II,  10. 

Sill,  E.  R.,  I,  7,  110,  175-181,  369,  II,  241, 
412. 

Sillick,  Capt.,  II,  307. 

Silliman,  Benjamin,  Sr.,  I,  58,  138,  139,  145, 
162,  183,  189,  190,  222,  221,  240,  247,  249, 
288,  295,  296,  329,  336,  II,  1,  5,  14-24,  31, 
32,  34,  39,  57,  83,  84,  85,  86,  88,' 113,  126, 
200,  207,  241,  269,  278,  367,  368,  376, 
379,  389,  409,  411,  416,  417,  Address  before 
Alumni  181^2,  II,  15n.  ff;  Silliman s  Jour- 
nal (see  American  Journal  of  Science); 
Benjamin.  Jr.,  II,  2,  57,  88,  89,  92  n,  123  n, 
268,' 409,  416;  G.  S.,  II,  14,  290. 

Simmons  College,  II,  404. 

Simonds,  W.  E.,  II,  92. 

Simsl)ury,  Conn.,  I,  213. 

Sinners  in  the  Hands  of  an  Angry  God, 
I,  25. 

"Sir,"  Title  of,  I,  128  n,  129,  II,  190. 

"Sirius,"  S.  S.,  II,  125. 

Slater  Fund,  I,  270. 

Slavery,  I,  33,  72,  138,  196,  228,  290,  II, 
127,"  132  n,  141,  179,  261-2,  283,  296, 
337  ff,  353. 

Sledd,  Andrew,  II,  398. 

Slidell,  John,  II,  264;  Thomas,  II,  231  n, 
263,  399. 

Sloane  Laboratory,  I,  333,  II,  23,  69. 

Smalley,  G.  W.,  I,  167,  II,  139  n;  John,  I, 
12,  17. 

Smallpox,  I,  314. 

Smibert,  I,  26. 

Smiley,  E.  E.,  II,  405. 

Smith,  Ashbel,  II,  129  n;  E.  C,  II,  405; 
E.  K.,  II,  291  n,  342;  Eli,  I,  76,  104-5,  II, 
411;    E.    H.,   I,    172,   II,   6,    139  n;    G.   A., 

I,  56;  Gerrit,  I,  290;  Goldwin,  I,  292; 
Henry,  II,  292  n;  Israel,  II,  230  n,  405; 
J.    C.',   II,   396;   J.   L.,    II,   291  n;   Junius, 

II,  93,  125,  411;  Dr.  Nathan,  I,  4,  II,  6, 
416;  Senator  Nathan,  II,  416;  Noah,  I, 
128;  Samuel,  I,  23;  S.  I.,  II,  409;  T.  M., 
II,  403;  Truman,  II,  284,  397;  WiUiam 
(1719),  I,  23,  219,  II,  230,  233,  281,  367, 
410;  Chief  Justice  William  (1745),  II, 
138,  231  n,  232-6,  375  n,  410,  419,  History 
of  Province  of  New  York,  II,  232  n;  Wil- 
liam N.,  II,  231  n,  403. 


[446] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Smith  CoUege,  II,  400;  Medal,  II,  51. 

Smithsonian  Institution,  I,  94,  243  n,  367. 

Smoking,  Discussion  of,  II,  18. 

Smollett,  Tobias,  II,  243. 

Smyth,  A.  H.,  I,  355. 

Social  Reform,  I,  190;  Standing,  I,  117,  218, 
218  n,  219  n,  II,  135,  302,  374. 

Societe  Americaine  de  France,  I,  354. 

Societology,  I,  360. 

Society  for  Christian  Research,  I,  91,  92  n; 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  I,  46 
(cf.  I,  39);  of  Arts,  London,  II,  10;  of 
Physiological  Chemistry,  II,  408;  of  Ver- 
tebrate Paleontology,  II,  409;  of  Zoolo- 
gists, II,  408;  System,  I,  358  (see  Asso- 
ciations and  Clubs). 

Sociology,   I,  356  ff. 

Soldiers"  and  Patriots,  II,  287-362. 

Sophocles,  I,  241. 

Sophomores,  Rules  regarding,  II,  165; 
Sophomores'  Song  of  Victory  1852,  I,  98. 

Sources  of  information,  I,  7. 

South,  Students  from,  I,  226,  II,  196-7,  262, 
337;  Whitney's  contribution  to,  II,  109. 

South  American  Republics,  I,  80. 

South  Carolina  College,  I,  183,  II,  404; 
Representative  Yale  men,  II,  404. 

South  College,  I,  xx,  304. 

South  Dakota,  Representative  Yale  men, 
II,  404. 

South  Middle  College  (see  Connecticut 
Hall). 

Southern  Pacific  Expedition,  II,  33. 

Spalding,  Bishop,  I,  183. 

Spanish  American  War,  I,  xxii,  362,  II, 
287,  296-7. 

Sparks,  Jared,  Library,  I,  226,  298  n.  ff.  Life 
of  Benedict  Arnold,  II,  323  n.  Writings 
of  Washington,  II,  100  n. 

Spaulding,  Levi,  I,  62;  Luther,  II,  293  n. 

Spectator,  I,  115,  120,  199,  II,  320. 

Spencer,  Elihu,  II,  289  n;  Herbert,  I,  276  n. 

Spenser,  Edmund,  II,  39. 

Spirit  of  Yale,  I,  265-6,  268-9. 

Sprague,  H.  B.,  II,  396,  403,  Daniel  Coit 
Gilman,  I,  267  n;  W.  B.,  I,  194,  217,  226, 
II,  129  n,  208,  329,  Annals  of  American 
Pulpit,  I,  26  n,  44  n,  61  n,  194,  224  n,  287  n, 
II,  9  n,  10  n.  Influence  of  Yale  on  Ameri- 
can Civilization,  II,  129  n,  208  n,  405,  Life 
of  Timothy  Dwight,  I,  217  n,  219  n,  225  n, 
226. 

Si)ring,  Gardiner,  I,  11  n. 

Springfield,  Mass.,  I,  331. 

Stamj)  Act,  I,  xx,  II,  176. 

Stanley,  Oliver,  II,  309. 

Stai)lcs,   S.   P.,   II,  229. 

State  Universities,  Advantages  and  Limi- 
tations of,  II,  386-8. 

"Statement  of  Facts,"  I,  130,  II,  277,  393. 

Statement  of  Facts  pertaining  to  Case  of 
Yale  College,  I,  288  n. 


States,  Representative  Yale  men  in  different, 

II,  395-406. 
Statesmen,  II,  129-226. 
Stearns,    J.    F.,    First    Church    in    Newark, 

N.  J.,  I,  39  n. 
Stebbins,  Josiah,  II,  106. 
Stedman,  E.  C,  I,  7,  110,  150,  167-174,  369, 

II,   81,   364  n,   412,   American   Anthology, 

I,  113  n;  James,  I,  167;  Laura,  Life  and 
Letters  of  Edmund  Clarence,  I,  150  n, 
169  n,  173,  173  n. 

Steele,  Richard,  I,  199. 

Stephen,  Leslie,  I,  26  n. 

Sterling,  Elisha,  II,  292  n. 

Sterne,  Simon,  I,  367. 

Steuben,  Baron,  II,  168. 

Stevens,  A.  H.,  II,  7  n,  83-4,  198,  402,  407, 
411;  G.  B.,  Parker,  Peter,  Life  and  Let- 
ters of,  I,  89  ff,  92  n,  94;  Henry,  I,  366-7, 

II,  412;  John,  II,  101  n;  Samuel,  II,  198. 
Stewart,  Dugald,  I,  26,  90;  W.  M.,  II,  401. 
Stiles,   Benjamin,  II,   136;   Ezra,  I,  xx,   11, 

23,  32,  49,  52,  102,  104,  109,  115,  120, 
129,  192,  197,  198,  202,  207,  222,  225,  295, 
296,  298-311,  364,  371,  II,  14,  18,  96,  135, 
141,  142,  150,  151,  155,  156,  157,  166,  184, 
185,  249,  306,  311  n,  365,  390,  397,  410, 
416,  Diary,  I,  2  n,  115  n,  120  n,  128,  128  n, 
129,  202  n,  208  n,  222  n,  225  n,  249  n,  287  n, 
303  n,  304  n,  314,  315  n,  316  n,  317  n,  H, 
95,  96,  96  n,  105  n,  150,  152  n,  155  n,  167  n, 
173  n,  178,  184n.  ff,  191  n,  193  n,  2.38  n.  ff, 
218  n;  MS.  Letters,  IL  151  n,  300,  300  n; 
Isaac,  I,  298,  II,  298. 

Stllle,  Alfred,  I,  292,  H,  7n;  C.  J.,  I,  292-3, 
II,  132  n,  403,  412,  Dickinson,  John,  Life 
and  Times  of,  I,  293,  Silas  Deane,  II,  171. 

Stillman,  Mrs.  H.  A.,  I,  43. 

Stimson,  H.  L.,  II,  130;  Lewis,  I,  358; 
R.  W.    II    397. 

Stockbridge,'  Mass.,  I,  24,  27,  39,  42,  43, 
102,  210. 

Stoddard,  D.  T.,  I,  16,  Modern  Syriac,  I,  16; 
Israel,  II,  166;  Solomon,  I,  69,  237,  239. 

Stone,  Collins,  I,  232. 

Stone-breaker,  Invention  of,  II,  91,  120  ff, 
122,  380;  Prize,  II,  123. 

Stonington,  Conn.,  I,  345. 

Stony  Point,  II,  290,  358. 

Storrs,  Cordial,  II,  56;  Richard  S.,  I,  73, 
212,  II,  180;  W.  L.,  II,  197,  397. 

Storrs  Agricultural  College,  II,  397. 

Storv,  Joseph,  II,  228,  244,  245,  251,  285. 

Stoughton,  John,  II,  289  n. 

Stowe,  H.  B.,  The  Minister's  Wooing,  I,  33, 
Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,  1,  33,  55;  Prof.,  I, 
61  n. 

Strain,  Lieut.,  II,  351. 

Stratford,  Conn.,  I,  201,  203,  205,  II,  144, 
145. 

Stratton,  G.  M.,  II,  409. 

Street,  A.  R.,  I,  166,  II,  416. 

Strong,  A.  H.,  II,  402;  Frank,  II,  399,  403; 


[447] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Joseph,  I,  213,  II,  289  n;  Nathan,  I,  126, 

217  n,    231,    II,    184,    237;    Theodore,    II, 

49  n,  409;  William,  II,  230  n. 
Stuart,  Gilbert,   II,   194,  313;   Moses,   I,  15, 

16,  16  n,  57-63,  140,  282,  296,  369,  II,  368, 

411,  Uebrew  Grammar,  I,  60. 
Student  Life  (see  College  Life);  Volunteer 

Movement,  I,  17,  91. 
Studies,  I,  21,  II,  221,  248;   Group   system 

of,  I,  189   (see  Curriculum). 
Study,  Influence  of,  II,  363-6. 
Sturges,  Jonathan,   II,   111. 
Sturm,  Julius,  II,  53,  54. 
Sturtevant,  J.  M.,  I,  291,  II,  398. 
Submarine,  Bushnell's,  II,  91,  95-101. 
Suffield,  Conn.,  II,  299. 
Suffrage,  Graduates'  right  of,  II,  373. 
Sullivant,  W.  S.,  II,  85,  86,  409,  411. 
Sumner,    Charles,    II,    210  n,    244;    Thomas, 

I,  356;  William,  I,  46;  W.  G.,  I,  356-363, 
371,  II,  155,  368,  370,  407,  412,  Earth 
Hunger,  I,  359,  Financier  and  Finances 
of  American  Revolution,  I,  358,  II,  155  n. 
Folkways,  I,  358-9,  War  and  Other  Es- 
sai/s,  I,  359. 

Supreme  Court  a  factor  of  Political  Con- 
tinuity, II,  384;  Yale  members  of,  II,  230, 
230  n. 

Surgery   (see  Medicine). 

Suspensions,  I,  176,  II,  348-9  (see  Expul- 
sions). 

Sutherland,  Duchess  of,  II,  275. 

Swayne,  Wager,  II,  294. 

Swearing,  Rule  against,  II,  159. 

Sweet  Briar  College,  II,  405. 

Swift,  Jonathan,  I,  309;  Zephaniah,  I,  128, 
315,  II,  227,  230  n,  282-3,  397,  411,  Digest, 

II,  258,  282. 
Sylvester,  J.  J.,  I,  269. 
Svmons,  Commodore,  II,  99. 
Svria,  I,  104,  248. 

Syriac,  I,  16,  282;  Scriptures,  I,  62. 

Tacitus,  I,  336,  337,  II,  245. 

Taft,   Alphonso,   II,   130,  223-4,   231  n,   280, 

412;  W.  H.,  II,  129,  132,  134,  223,  230  n, 

343,  365,  404. 
Tajiri,  Viscount  Inajiro,  II,  406. 
Taicott,  Samuel,  II,  289  n. 
Talebearer,  The,  I,  69,  238. 
Talladega  College,  Ala.,  II,  396. 
Tallmadge,    Benjamin,    II,    156,    291,    323, 

329,  359,  411;  F.  A.,  II,  293  n, 
Tammany  Hall,  II,  216. 
Tamul   Scriptures,   I,  62. 
Tanev,  R.  B.,  II,  279. 
Tappan,  J.  C,  II,  295. 
Tatler,  The,  I,  199. 
Taylor,    Augustine,    II,    291  n;    Hannis,    I, 

320,    II,   153,    154,  Origin  and   Groxpth   of 

English  Constitution,  II,  154  n;  Henry,  II, 

120;    H.    L.,    II,    408;    Jeremy,    II,'   39; 

Nathanael,  II,   192,  289  n;   N.  W.,   I,   17, 


55,   64-8,   84,   222,   331,  369,   II,   368,   379, 

411,  416;  Tai/lor,  Nathaniel  W.,  Memorial 

of,  I,  64  n.  flf';  Richard,  II,  295,  343-7,  412, 

419;   W.   A.,   II,  292  n;   Zachary,   II,  209, 

210,  211,  343. 
Taylor  Hall,  I,  67,  333. 
Taylorism,  I,  67,  104. 
Tea,  Tax  on,  I,  313. 

Teachers,  Influence  of  in  Yale,  II,  367-9. 
Teaching  Stafl'   (see  Faculty). 
Telegraph,  Invention  of,  II,  112  ff,  380. 
Telemachus,  I,  115,  337. 
Temperance     Movement,     I,     54,     78     (see 

Philencratian  Society). 
Temple,  Daniel,  I,  63. 

Tennent,  Gilbert,  I,  30,  31,  38,  II,  136,  366. 
Tennessee,    Representative    Yale    men,    II, 

404;  University  of,  I,  183. 
Tennyson,  Holy  Grail.  I,  340. 
Tenn  Bills   (see  Tuition). 
Terry,  A.  H.,  I,  4  n,  II,  294,  416. 
Texas,    Representative    Yale   men,   II,   404; 

Yale  Expedition  to,  II,  73. 
Thacher,  George,  II,  399;  James,  American 

Medical  Biography,  II,  9  n,  10  n,  Military 

Journal,   II,   98  n;   Thomas,   II,   227,  272; 

T.  A.,  I,  292,  II,  412,  416. 
Thacher  Fund,  I,  292 ;  Professorship,  I,  292. 
Theocritus,  I,  168,  171. 
Theological  Lecture  Room,  I,  68;  Seminary, 

I,  91   (see  Divinity  School). 
Theology    (see    Divines    and    New    England 

Theology). 
Thermodynamics,  II,  65  ff. 
Thomas,    David,    I,    196;     E.    S.,    U,    399; 

George,  II,  337;  John,  II,  220. 
Thompson,  J.  P.,  I,  12  n,  72,  II,  139n. 
Thompson,  Conn.,  II,  172. 
Thomson,    James     (1834),    I,    253;    James 

(1700-1748),  Seasons,  I,  115. 
Thoreau,  H.  D.,  I,  110  n. 
Thornbury,  Pa.,  I,  351. 
Thucydides,  II,  138. 
Thurston,  Asa,  I,  16,  62. 
Thwaites,  R.  G.,  I,  368  n. 
Ticknor,  George,  I,  150,  II,  252. 
Ticonderoga,  II,  167,  289  n,  300,  303. 
Tilden,  S.  J.,  II,  133,  212-217,  225,  230,  268, 

279,  364  n,  402,  412,  419. 
Tillotson  College,  II,  404. 
Times,  The  (London),  II,  383. 
Tinmouth,  Vt.,   II,  222. 
Tisdale,  Nathan,  II,  247. 
Tobacco,  Sale  of,  II,  159. 
Tod,  George,  II,  222,  292  n. 
Todd,  C.  B.,  Life  of  Barloiv,  I,  126  n,  128  n, 

129  n,   130  n,   133. 
Tolstoi,  I,  186. 
Tomahawk,  The,  I,  170. 
Tomlinson,  Gideon,  II,  396,  397;  J.  L.,  II, 

292  n. 
Toronto,  University  of,  I,  271. 
Torpedo,  Invention  of,  II,  91,  95  ff. 


[448] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Torrey,  C.  T.,  II,  132  n. 

Town  and  Gown,  I,  8  n,  200,  324,  351,  II,  85. 

Townsend  Prize,  I,  xxi,  177,  185,  266,  293, 
351,  358. 

Townshend,  C.  H.,  British  Invasion  of  New 
Haven,  II,  238  n. 

Tracy,  B.  F.,  II,  195;  Charles,  II,  309  n, 
351,  Sketches  from  Memory,  II,  339  n; 
Uriah,  I,  128,  II,  259,  282,  397. 

Tracy's  Academy,  I,  345. 

Tradition  in  America,  lack  of,  II,  383-6. 

Traeger's,  I,  161. 

Transylvania  University,  II,  225,  337,  399. 

Travels  of  Cyrus,  II,  320. 

Tread  well,  John,  I,  208,  II,  396. 

Treasury  Building,  I,  68. 

Trinity  Church,  New  Haven,  I,  357;  College, 
Hartford,  I,  49,  146,  II,  397,  409;  College, 
N.  C,  II,  403;  Doctrine  of  the,  I,  85. 

Trowbridge  House,  I,  317. 

Tme  American,  The,  II,  339. 

Trumbull,  Benjamin,  I,  34,  212,  295,  364, 
II,  303  n,  411;  H.  C,  II,  294;  J.  H.,  I, 
115  n,  296,  345-350,  371,  II,  364  n,  407, 
409,  412;  Rev.  John,  I,  114,  II,  189;  John, 
Poet,  I,  110,  111,  llln,  114-125,  128,  214, 
310,  318,  321,  369,  II,  308,  315,  316,  366, 
411,  Future  Glory  of  America,  I,  118, 
McFingal,  II,  315,  316,  Ode  to  Sleep,  I, 
120  n,  Trumbull,  John,  Poetical  Works  of, 
I,  117  n,  118  n,  119  n,  123,  133  n,  II,  309  n; 
John,  Artist,  I,  xxi,  123,  226,  II,  21,  94, 
203,  312,  358,  392;  Joseph,  I,  309,  II,  141, 
396. 

Trumbull,  Conn.,  II,  14. 

Trumbull  Trust  Association,  I,  346. 

Trustee,  First  Yale  Graduate,  II,  13; 
Records,  I,  22  n   (see  Yale  Corporation). 

Trvon,  Gen.,  II,  191,  237,  357,  390. 

Tucker,  J.  H.,  II,  16,  17. 

Tuckerman,  Bayard,  William  Jay  and  the 
Constitutional  Movement  for  the  Aboli- 
tion of  Slavery,  I,  139  n. 

Tudor,  Elihu,  II,  289  n;  William,  Life  of 
James  Otis,  II,  356  n. 

Tuition,  Cost  of,  I,  22  n,  45,  116,  330  n;  Pay- 
ment of  in  provisions,  I,  212,  213. 

Tulane,  Paul,  II,  361. 

Tulane  University,  I,  188,  II,  361,  399. 

Tully,  I,  139,  197',  II,  138,  151. 

Turg^nieff,  I,  186. 

Tutors,  Disrespect  to,  I,  301-2. 

Tutorship,  I,  5,  249,  331,  II,  366  n. 

Tuttle,  Thomas,  II,   163. 

Tweed,  Boss,  II,  216,  272. 

Twining,  A.  C,  I,  69,  70,  239,  II,  26,  92, 
125-6,  411,  416;   Kingsley,  I,  97. 

Tyerman,  Luke,  Life  of  Whitefield,  II, 
136  n,  176  n. 

Tyler,  Bennet,  I,  67,  103-4,  II,  401,  411, 
Memoir  of  Rev.  Asahel  Nettleton,  I,  104; 
John,  II,  201;  M.  C,  I,  111,  361,  367,  II, 
140,  412,  Uistory  of  American  Literature, 


I,  194  n,  367,  Life  of  Patrick  Henry,  I, 
367,  Literary  History  of  American  Revo- 
lution, I,  48,  111,  114  n,  120  n,  122  n,  123, 
307,  307  n,  367,  II,  99  n,  140  n.  Three  Men 
of  Letters,  I,  131  n,  222  n,  223  n;  Septi- 
mus, II,  292  n. 

Tylerism,  I,  67,  104. 

Tyndall,  John,  II,  77. 

UUmann,  Daniel,  II,  294. 

Uniform  for  students,  I,  155  n. 

Union  College,  I,  104,  261,  II,  274;  Theologi- 
cal Seminary,  I,  60,  105,  II,  402. 

Unionville,  Conn.,  I,  87. 

Unitarianism,  I,  54,  184. 

Universities  and  their  Sons,  I,  274  n;  and 
National  History,  II,  391-394. 

University  Catalogue,  II,  124  n;  University 
Quarterly,  I,  358;  Settlements,  I,  190  n; 
Spirit,  I,  223,  II,  33;  Training,  Influence 
of,  I,  8. 

Updike,  Col.,   I,  202. 

Upper  Iowa  Universitj^  II,  399. 

Utica  High  School,  II,  31. 

Utrecht  University,  II,  88. 

Valin,  II,  244. 

Valley  Forge,  II,  358. 

VanBuren,   J.    H.,    II,   404;    John,    I,    159; 

Martin,   I,    159,   II,   212,  343;   W.   H.,   II, 

7n. 
Vanderbilt,  Jeremiah,  II,  292  n. 
Vanderbilt   Hall,  I,  xxii,  304,   II,   164. 
Van  Deursen,  William,  II,  292  n. 
Van  Harlingen,  Arthur,  II,  408. 
Van  Name,  Addison,  I,  272;  R.  G.,  II,  69. 
Van  Rensselaer,  Gen.,  II,  291  n;  J.  R.,  II, 

292  n ;  Stephen,  I,  65. 
Vaux,  Calvert,  II,  126. 
Venezuelan  Commission,  I,  270,  II,  285. 
Vergennes,  Comte  de,  II,  168. 
Vermont,    I,    63,    129;    Representative    Yale 

men,  II,  405;  University  of,  II,  405. 
Ver  Planks  Point,  II,  314. 
Verrill,  A.  E.,  II,  36. 
Vincent,    Boyd,    II,    403;    G.    E.,    II,    400; 

Vincent's  Catechism,  I,  128. 
Virgil,   I,   21,    128,   165,    197,   247,   269,   336, 

337,  II,  137,   177,  247,  317. 
Virginia,  Representative  Yale  men,  II,  405; 

University  of,  I,  110,  113  n,  II,  390,  452  n. 
Vittum,  E.'m.,  II,  403. 
Voltaire,  I,  53. 
Von    Hoist,    H.    E.,   John   C.    Calhoun,    II, 

204. 

Wabash  College,  I,  188,  II,  401. 

Waddel,  Rev.  Dr.,  II,  196. 

Wadswortli,  Dccius,  II,  292  n;  Gen.  James, 
I,  45,  123-5,  II,  289  n,  290;  James  (1748), 
I,  45;  J.  B.,  I,  118  n;  J.  S.,  II,  294. 

Waite,  H.  M.,  II,  231  n,  276,  397;  Morrison 
R.,  I,  185,  249,  II,  27,  134,  212,  213,  230  n. 


[449  ] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


268,  276-280,  376,  412,  419;  Remick,  II, 
280;   Richard,  II,  278. 

Wales,  John,   II,  398;   Samuel,   II,   184. 

Walker,  F.  A.,  I,  359;  William,  I,  62; 
W.  H.  T.,  II,  295;  Williston,  I,  103,  His- 
tory of  the  Congregational  Churches  in 
the  United  States,  I,  12  n,  25  n,  103  n. 

Wallace,  Lewis,  II,  342. 

Wain,  Robert,  Biographies  of  the  Signers, 
II,  218  n. 

Walton-le-Dale,   I,  356. 

Wanderjahr,  Influence  of  the,  II,  53. 

Wang,  "Cheng-t'ing,  II,  406;  Chung  Hui, 
II,  406. 

War  of  1812,  I,  xx,  121,  II,  254,  333,  337, 
358  (see  under  Civil  War,  Revolutionary 
War,  etc.). 

Ward,  Arithmetic,  I,  128,  Geometry,  I,  128, 
Trigonometry,  I,  128;  J.  H.,  Life  and 
Letters  of  James  Gates  Percival,  I, 
147n.  flf,  151,  152  n;  Mr.,  I,  134. 

Ware,  E.  T.,  II,  398. 

Warren,  Gen.,  II,  181;  Peter,  I,  28. 

Warrcnton,  Ga.,  II,  99. 

Washburn,  W.  B.,  II,  400. 

Washburn  College,  I,  282  n,  II,  399. 

Washington,  George,  I,  xx,  123,  134,  312, 
II,  100,  131,  149,  170,  193,  218,  290, 
291,  303,  308,  310,  311,  311  n,  312,  313, 
316,  325,  357,  359,  390,  391. 

Washington  and  Lee  University,  II,  390, 
394  n. 

Washington  (City),  I,  88  n,  94,  132,  II,  117. 

Washington  College,  II,  400. 

Washington  (State),  Representative  Yale 
men,  II,  405. 

Washington  University,  St.  Louis,  II,  45, 
401. 

Waterbury,  Conn.,  I,  30,  31,  123;  Water- 
bury  American,  II,  344  n. 

Waters,  W.  E.,  II,  402. 

Watertown,  Conn.,   I,   114. 

Watkinson  Library,  I,  346. 

Watson,  James,  II,  402;  Sereno,  II,  86  n. 

Watt,  James,  II,  110. 

Watts,  Isaac,  I,  114,  115,  309,  II,  138,  Logic, 

I,  128,  208,  Psalms  of  David,  I,  115,  135. 
AVayland,  Francis,  Dean,  I,  4  n,  333,  II,  229, 

4i6;   Francis,   President,  I,  62  n,  257. 

Wayne,  Anthony,  II,  358;  Wayne,  Major 
Gen.,  and  Continental  Army,  I,  293. 

Weather  Bureau,  II,  28,  379;  Chart,  Inven- 
tion of,  II,  91. 

Webb,  Col.,  II,  324,  360. 

Webster,  Daniel,  I,  25,  95,  211,  II,  179,  202, 
203,  211,  251,  273,  283;  Noah,  I,  3,  109, 
112  n,  121,  128,  130,  190,  296,  312-322,  323, 
326,  371,  II,  6,  153  n,  190,  256,  375,  380, 
393,  411,  416,  Dictionary,  I,  148,  297,  313, 

II,  68,  Sketches  of  American  Policy,  II, 
154  n;  Pelatiah,  I,  208,  219  n,  299,  320,  II, 
131,  150-7,  380,  410,  417. 

Webster  Prize,  I,  316,  II,  256. 


Weed,  Thurlow,  II,  211. 
Weekly  Post  Boy,  N.  Y.,  I,  195. 
Weeks,  R.  K.,  I,  177  n. 
Weir,  J.  F.,  I,  165,  166,  244,  II,  94,  187. 
Welch,   A.    A.,    II,   408;    M.    C,    IL   291  n; 
W.  H.   (1827),  231  n,  400;  W.  H.   (1870), 

I,  269,   II,   6  ff,   11,  408,  409,    Yale  in   its 
Relation   to  Medicine,  II,  6  n. 

Wellford,  J.  S.,  II,  205. 

Wells,  D.  H.,  II,  408;  H.  L.,  II,  409. 

Wells  College,  II,  402. 

Wendell,    Barrett,    I,    111,    120  n,    Literary 

History  of  America,  I,  111  n,  132  n. 
Wentworth,  John,  I,  211. 
Wesley,  John,  I,  41. 
Weslevan    LTniversitv,    Conn.,    I,   86,    II,   59, 

397,'  409. 
West,  Benjamin,  IL  115;  Stephen,  I,  12,  17, 

Life  of  Samuel  Hopkins,  I,  30  n.  flf. 
West  Chester,  Pa.,  I,  351. 
West  Hartford,  Conn.,  I,  312. 
West  Point,  I,  148,  221,  II,  49  n,  125  n,  287, 

385. 
West    Virginia,    Representative    Yale    men, 

II,  405. 

Westboro,  Mass.,  II,  103,  120. 

Westchester,  N.  Y.,  I,  46,  221. 

Western  Colleges,  Debt  to  Yale,  II,  378; 
New  York,  Diocese  of,  I,  104;  Reserve 
Cession,  II,  282,  283;  Reserve  College,  I, 
4,  189,  232,  276,  367,  II,  27,  403;  States, 
Alumni  influence  in  development  of,  I, 
189  (cf.  biographies  of  T.  Baldwin,  Cut- 
ler, Durant,  King,  Remington,  etc.) ; 
Union  Co.,  IL  117. 

Westminster  Abbey,  II,  384;  Confession,  I, 
194;   Westminster  Revieiv,  I,  259;  School, 

I,  140. 

Weston,    G.    M.,    Progress    of    Slavery,    II, 

127. 
Westville,  Conn.,  II,  121,  124. 
Wethersfield,  Conn.,  I,  19  n,  20,  220,  II,  309, 

328. 
Wetniore,  C.  H.,  11,  293  n;  G.  P.,  II,  404. 
Wharton,  Francis,  II,   170,  228,  284-5,  412, 

Criminal  Law,  II,  228,  International  Laic, 

II,  228. 

Wheaton,  N.  S.,  I,  146,  II,  397. 

Wheeler,    J.    D.,    Laio    of    Slavery,    I,    72; 

William,  II,  294. 
Wheelock,  Eleazar,  L  U,  188,  189,  190,  206- 

213,   364,   371,   II,  93,   366,  390,  401,  410; 

John,  I,  211. 
Whig  riots,  I,  314. 
Whiston,  William,  I,  199. 
Whitaker,  Rev.  Mr.,  I,  210. 
White,   A.    D.,    I,    100,    106,    167,    188,   267, 

270  n,  271,  340,  II,  130,  402,  407;  Bishop, 

I,  48,  104. 
White  Haven,  Conn.,  II,  306. 
White  Mulberry,  Introduction  of,  II,  10. 
White  Plains,  N.  Y.,  I,  126. 


[450] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Whitefield,    George,    I,    30,    36,    36  n,    194, 

194  n,  II,  136,  176,  366. 
Whitehead,   Cortlandt,    II,   404. 
Whiting,  John,   II,  289  n;   Nathan,   II,  288, 

289  n. 
Whitman,  Walt,  I,  110  n,  353. 
Whitman  College,  II,  405. 
Whitney,   Eli,   II,  91,  92,  103-111,   115,   120, 

121,    393,    411,    416,    417;    Henry,    II,    37; 

James,  II,  37;  Josiah,  II,  110,  111;  Josiah 

D.,    II,    37-42,    77,    89,    93,    369,    370,    409, 

412,  417;  W.  C,  II,  130;  W.  D.,  I,  4,  109, 

281,   282,   296,   339,   341,   366,   II,   37,    74, 

380,  416. 
Whitney,  Mount,  II,  43. 
Whitneyville,  Conn.,  II,  121. 
Whiton,  J.  M.,  I,  98  n,  100  n. 
Whittelsey,    Rev.    Chauncey,    I,    37,    38,    II, 

135,  299;  Gen.  Chauncey,  II,  292  n. 
Whittier,  J.  G.,  I,  150. 
Wickham,  William,  II,  326  n. 
Wiggins,  Thomas,  I,  301. 
Wilcox,  R.  W.,  II,  408. 
Wilderness,  Campaign  of  the,  II,  362. 
Wilkes,  Charles,  II,  32. 
Willard,  Joseph,  II,  64. 
William  and  Mary  College,  I,  271,  II,  132, 

286,  290  n,  363  n,  394  n. 
Williams,  A.   S.,   II,  294;   E.    H.,   II,  231  n, 

399;   Eliphalet,  II,   17;   Elisha,  I,  xix,  23, 

206,  II,  12,  289  n,  299,  367;  H.  S.,  II,  34; 

J.  C,   II,   175;   S.  W.,  I,  94;   Stephen,  I, 

102;  T.  S.,  II,  230  n,  397. 
Williams  College,  I,  15,  103,  110,  113  n,  188, 

313,   359,    II,   37,   38  n,   69,  220,  224,   389, 

400. 
Willington,  Conn.,  II,  25. 
Willis,  N.  P.,  I,  7,  78,  80,  110,  111  n,  153-9, 

369,     II,     139  n,     369,     II,     411;      WUIis, 

Nathaniel    Parker,    Poems    of,    I,    156  n; 

R.  S.,  I,  llln. 
Williston,  Payson,  I,  287  n;  S.  W.,  II,  409. 
Williston  Seminary,  I,  97. 
Willmot,  Capt.,  II,  307. 
Wilmer,  R.  H.,  II,  396. 
Wilmington,  N.  C,  II,  261. 
Wilson,    A.    M.,    II,    401;    E.    B.,    II,    409; 

Woodrow,  II,  132,  303  n. 
Winchester,    England,    II,   386;    family,    II, 

51;   Hall,  I,  xxii. 
Windham,  Conn.,  I,  206. 

Windsor,  Conn.,  I,  175,  II,  158;  Vt.,  I,  321. 
Winship,   A.   E.,  Jukes-Edwards,  I,  25  n. 
Winslow,  Miron,  I,  62. 
AVinsor,  Justin,  I,  364,  Historif  of  America, 

I,  365  n. 
Winter,  William,  I,  173. 
Winthrop,    F.    B.,    II,    348;    John,    II,    348; 

John  S.,  II,  348;  Theodore,  I,  3,  7,  110,  II, 

53,    77,    133,    294,    348-355,    370,    412,    416, 

419;  Winthrop,  Theodore,  Life  and  Poems 

of,  II,  31.9n.  ff;  W.  W.,  II,  353. 
Winthrop  Trust  Association,  II,  354. 


Winton,  A.  L.,  II,  408. 

Wisconsin,  I,  148,  II,  40;  Representative 
Yale  men,  II,  405;  University  of,  I,  188, 
259,  271,  283,  289,  290,  II,  60",  387,  405. 

AVitherspoon,  John,  II,  390. 

Witte,  Karl,  I,  115. 

Wolcott,  Alexander  (1731),  II,  289  n; 
Alexander  (1778),  II,  230  n;  Alexander 
(1809),  II,  292  n;  E.  O.,  II,  396;  Freder- 
ick, II,  192;  Wolcott,  Henry,  Memorial 
of,  II,  160  n,  192  n,  193  n;  Oliver  (1747), 
I,  218  n,  II,  131,  152  n,  158-163,  189,  289  n, 
380,  396,  410,  417;  Oliver  (1778),  I,  121, 
128,  II,  104,  107,  108,  129,  189-195,  411, 
419;  Mrs.  Oliver,  II,  195. 

Wollaston,  Rel.  Nat.  delineated,  I,  128. 

Wollebius,  I,  128,  207. 

Women,  Education  of,  I,  190,  221,  247,  251, 
291,  II,  323;  SuflPrage,  II,  248. 

AVood,  Anthony  a,  I,  1 ;  John,  I,  225  n. 

Woodbridge,  Ashbel,  II,  289  n;  Enoch,  II, 
230  n,  405;  Samuel,  II,  12;  Timothy,  II, 
289  n;   William,  II,   139  n. 

Woodbridge  Hall,  I,  164,  244,  II,  12. 

AVoodbury,  I>evi,   II,  257. 

AVoodbury,  Conn.,  I,  13,  II,  163. 

Wooden  Spoon,  I,  170,  II,  120  (see  also 
Junior  Exhibition). 

AVoodford,  S.  E.,  II,  130,  294. 

Woodhull,  C.  S.,  II,  293  n;  Richard,  II,  176. 

Woodruff,  G.  C,  Historif  of  Litchfield,  II, 
161  n. 

AVoods,  AV.  B.,  II,  230  n,  294. 

AVoodward,  John,   II,   136. 

AVoolsey,  Rev.  Benjamin  (1709),  I,  237,  II, 
348;  Benjamin  (1744),  I,  237;  T.  D.,  I, 
xxi,  3,  25,  57,  68,  69,  70,  74,  104,  162, 
165,  167,  185,  189,  232,  237-246,  288,  296, 
335,  336,  339,  366,  II,  14,  21,  22,  53,  204, 
228,  273,  278,  348,  353,  355,  365,  368,  369, 
370,  376,  379,  397,  407,  411,  416,  Historical 
Discourse,  I,  201  n,  II,  204,  204  n.  Inter- 
national Law,  II,  228;  AV.  AV.,  I,  237. 

Woolsev  Fund,  I,  244,  II,  241  n;  Hall,  I, 
106,  244,  II,  241  n;  Professorship,  I,  244, 
283;  Scholarships,  I,  244. 

AVooster,  Abraham,  II,  302;  Benjamin,  II, 
292  n;  Charles,  II,  305;  David,  I,  206, 
299,  II,  93,  288,  289  n,  290,  291,  302-7, 
310,  410,  416,  419. 

AVorcester,  J.  E.,  I,  109,  112  n,  190,  296, 
297,  323-8,  371,   II,  380,  411. 

AVorcester,  Mass.,  II,   156,  222. 

AVordsvvorth,   II,  44. 

AVorld's  Fair,  Cliicago,  II,  126. 

AVorthington,  Jolm,  II,  136. 

AVright,  A.  AV.,  I,  349,  II,  409,  Biographi- 
cal Memoir  of  James  Hammond  Trum- 
bull, I,  347  n;  Asher,  I,  62;  Elizur,  II, 
239;  H.  B.,  Two  Centuries  of  Christian 
Activitii  at  Yale,  I,  16  n,  18  n,  37,  42  n, 
90,  153  n,  II,  19  n,  136  n,  367;  H.  P.,  I, 
344,  II,  293. 


[451  ] 


INDEX  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Wright   Hall,  II,  241  n. 

Wyllvs,  George,  II,  289  n;  Hezekiah,  II, 
172;  J.  P.,  II,  93,  288,  359-360,  411; 
Samuel,  II,  166. 

Wyoming  Controversy,  II,  162;  Representa- 
tive Yale  men,  II,  405;  University  of,  II, 
405. 

Xenophon,  I,  247. 

Yale,  David,  II,  416;  Elihu,  I,  20,  20  n,  245, 
364,  II,  26,  269,  416. 

Yale  (see  also  headings  such  as  College, 
Faculty,  Library,  etc.),  Yale  Alumni 
Weekly,  I,  xxii,"  68,  95  n,  100  n,  113  n, 
186  n,  II,  27  n,  29  n,  73  n,  191  n,  238  n, 
293  n,  296  n,  323  n;  "Yale  Bands,"  I,  290, 
II,  296,  395;  Yale  Banner,  I,  xxi;  Begin- 
nings of,  I,  20,  20  n,  192,  244-6;  Bicenten- 
nial (see  Bicentennial) ;  Yale  Book  of 
American  Verse,  I,  112  n,  170  n,  172,  222  n; 
Brotherhood,  II,  376;  Contribution  to 
Education,  Religion,  etc.  (see  Introduc- 
tions to  different  chapters  in  Table  of 
Contents) ;  Corporation,  Admission  of 
State  officers  to,  I,  xx,  304,  II,  15  n,  373; 
Corporation,  Alumni  Representation,  I, 
xxii,  190,  242,  268,  304,  II,  15  n,  373;  Cor- 
poration Records,  I,  7,  8,  22  n,  137  n,  199  n, 
216  n,  220,  262  n,  II,  185  n,  190  n,  192  n, 
299  n,  313  n;  Yale  Courant.  I,  xxi,  118  n, 
242  n,  338  n,  346,  II,  33,  277  n;  Yale  Daily 
News,  I,  xxii,  II,  373,  378;  Dates,  Table 
of,  I,  xix-xxii;  Dramatic  Association  (see 
Dramatic  Association) ;  Earliest  refer- 
ence in  Undergraduate  Verse  to,  I,  46; 
Foundation  of,  I,  244-5;  Graves  in  Grove 


Street  Cemetery,  II,  416;  Ideal,  II,  327, 
372;  Yale  Law  Journal,  II,  245;  Yale, 
Laws  of,  I,  114  n  (see  College  Eaws) ; 
Yale  Literary  Magazine,  I,  xxi,  107,  109, 
109  n,  112,  112  n,  160,  169,  175,  177,  177  n, 
178,  178  n,  180  n,  184,  185,  187  n,  265,  265  n, 
266  n,  294  n,  351,  II,  38  n,  43,  88,  196  n, 
256  n,  269,  270,  348  n,  370,  373;  Loyalty, 
I,  101,  265,  II,  200;  Mission  College  in 
China,  I,  17,  187,  191;  Mother  of  Col- 
leges,   I,    187;    Movements    originated    by, 

I,  189;  Name  first  adopted,  I,  20,  46, 
192;  New  Haven  invites,  I,  200;  Poems 
(i.e.,  in  honor  of  Yale),  L  118-9,  131, 
151,     155,     155  n,     170,     171-2,     178,     179, 

II,  310,  319;  Yale  Record,  I,  xxii;  Yale 
Review,  I,  xxii,  57  n,  112  n,  113,  238  n, 
240  n,  244,  360  n,  361  n,  II,  197  n,  381  n; 
Scientific  Expedition,  First,  II,  71;  Yale 
Scientific  Monthly,  I,  xxii;  Scientific 
School,  II,  2,  63,  76  (see  Sheffield  Scien- 
tific School);  Spirit  of,  I,  268-9;  Univer- 
sitj''.  Act  authorizing  name,  I,  xxii;  Uni- 
versity Press,  I,  xxii,  113;  Weakness,  I, 
109,  112. 

"Yalensia,"  "Yalensian,"  I,  2  n,  7,  109,  131, 

146,  192. 
Yokohama,  I,  106. 

Yorktown,  I,  308,  II,  312,  312  n,  361. 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  I,  xxii, 

18,  37,  II,  376. 
Youngs,  David,  I,  31. 
Yung,  Wing,  I,  2  n,  106,  II,  406,  407. 

Zarawa,  I,  99. 

Zarnovich,  Poland,  I,   132. 

Zulu  Scriptures,  I,  16,  62. 


ADDENDA    ET    CORRIGENDA 

I,  p.  3,  last  line — add  as  footnote :  "Of  the  158  names  represented  by  biographies  in  these 
volumes,  all  except  five  have  sketches  in  Appleton's  Encyclopedia  of  American  Biography. 
The  exceptions  are  Bingham,  Bourne,  Durant,  and  Wyllys.  105  are  referred  to  in  the  Index 
of  the  1910  edition  of  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica.  Of" the  79  'Eminent  Yale  Men'  the  only 
ones  not  mentioned  in  the  last-named  work  are  Bingham,  Wooster,  Loomis,  Chauvenet, 
Newton,  S.  W.  Johnson,  P.  Webster,  J.  Mason,  P.  B.  Porter,  and  W^inthrop." 

I,  J).  26,  twenty-sixth  line — for  "West  Divinity"  read  "East  Divinity." 

I,  p.  185,  twenty-seventh  line — date  of  death  should  be  "1907." 

I,  ji.  189,  thirty-second  line — note  that  the  "schools"  established  at  the  University  of  Vir- 
ginia in  1825  furnished  the  historic  background  for  the  "group  system." 

II,  p.  3,  seventh  line — note  that  the  "schools"  estaljlished  at  the  University  of  Virginia  in 
1825  furnished  the  historic  background  for  the  "group  system." 

II,  p.  16,  nineteenth  line — for  "corrunations"  read  "corruscations." 

II,  p.  72,  ninth  line — for  "specimens"  read  "species." 

II,  p.  89,  fourteenth  line — for  "Royal  Academy"  read  "Royal  Society." 

II,  p.  108,  thirtv-fifthline— for  "388  Orange  Street"  read  "275  Orange  Street." 

II,p.  146,  fifth  line— for  "1841"  read  "1741." 

II,  p.  179,  ninth  line — for  "Israel  Putnam"  read  "Rufus  Putnam." 

II,  p.  222,  twentv-sixth  line — for  "adopt"  read  "adaj)t." 

II,  p.  407,  fifteenth  line — for  "Institute"  read  "Institution."  Add  F.  A.  P.  Barnard  and 
Professors  Dana,  Newton,  and  Marsh  to  list  of  Presidents  of  American  Association  for 
Advancement  of  Science. 

[  452  ] 


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